JOHN  RAWN 

Prominent  Citizen 

By 
EMERSON  HOUGH 

ri 

Author  of 

The  Mississippi  Bubble,  54-40  Or  Fight 
The  Purchase  Price,  Etc. 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS  BY 

M.  LEONE  BRACKER 


INDIANAPOLIS 

THE  BOBBS-MERRILL  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


COPYRIGHT  1912 
EMERSON  HOUGH 


PRESS    OF 

BRAUNWORTH   &  CO. 

BOOKBINDER3    AND    PRINTER* 

BROOKLYN.    N.    Y. 


TO 

WOODROW  WILSON 

ONE  OF  THE  LEADERS  IN  THE  THIRD  WAR  OF 
AMERICAN  INDEPENDENCE 


95,3000 


CONTENTS 

BOOK  I 

CHAPTER  PAGB 

I   CERTAIN  NOTABLE  DETAILS  IN  GENESIS    .        .       .  1 

II   PURELY  INCIDENTAL 9 

III  IN  VICTORY  GENEROUS 12 

IV  IN  LOVE  SUCCESSFUL 22 

V   IN  ADVERSITY  TRIUMPHANT 28 

VI   MR.  RAWN  ANNOUNCES  His  ARRIVAL       ...  36 

VII   THE  DIFFERENCE  BETWEEN  MEN       ....  49 

VIII   POWER 59 

IX   CHANGE  IN  KELLY  Row 70 

X   THE  WOODSHED  IN  KELLY  Row        ....  90 

XI   THE  TEST 94 

XII   THE  HELPMEET 103 

BOOK  II 

I   THE  NEW  MR.  RAWN 110 

II   GRAYSTONE  HALL 125 

III  THE  COMPETENCIES  OF  Miss  DELAWARE    .        .        .  136 

IV  AT  HEADQUARTERS 151 

V   THEIR  MASTER'S  VOICE 165 

VI   IN  PROPER  PERSON 178 

VII   JOHN  RAWN,  PROMINENT  CITIZEN      ....  196 

VIII   A  PRINCELY  GENEROSITY 204 

BOOK  III 

I   THE  EXTREME  MONOGAMY  OF  MR.  RAWN        .        .  214 

II   ASPARAGUS,  ALSO  POTATOES 225 

III  THE  SILENT  PARTNER 233 

IV  THE  BAKER'S  DAUGHTER  246 


CONTENTS— Continued 
BOOK  IV 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I  THE  ROYAL  PROGRESS  OF  MR.  AND  MRS.  RAWN        .  262 

II  FOUR  BEING  No  COMPANY 268 

III  THE  STEP-MOTHER-IN-LAW  ....  283 

IV  THE  SECOND  CURRENT 290 

V  MEANS  TO  AN  END      .        .       .        ....  303 

VI  AN  INFORMAL  MEETING 317 

VII  THEY  WHO  Sow  THE  WIND 332 

VIII  THEY  WHO  WATER  WITH  TEARS      .        .        .        .339 

IX  WHAT  CHEER  OF  THE  HARVEST?        .        .        .        .353 

X  THOSE  WHO  REAP  THE  WHIRLWIND        .        .        .    357 

XI  THE  MEANS— AND  THE  END 369 

XII  THE  GREAT  JOHN  RAWN    .       .       .  .       .376 


JOHN  RAWN 


JOHN  RAWN 

BOOK  ONE 


CHAPTER  I 

CERTAIN    NOTABLE   DETAILS    IN    GENESIS 

ONE  John  Rawn  is  to  be  the  hero  of  this  pleasing 
tale ;  no  ordinary  hero,  as  you  might  learn  did 
you  make  inquiry  of  himself.  His  history  must  be  set 
down  in  full,  from  beginning  to  culmination,  from  del 
icate  flowering  to  opulent  fruitage,  from  early  obscurity 
to  later  fame.  Such  would  be  his  wish ;  and  the  wishes 
of  John  Rawn  long  have  been  commands. 

For  the  most  part  the  early  history  of  any  hero  is  of 
small  consequence.  We  are  chiefly  concerned  that  he 
shall  be  tall  and  shapely,  mighty  in  war  and  love,  and 
continuously  engaged  therein  from  the  first  moment  of 
his  entrance  on  our  scene.  Granted  these  essentials,  we 
customarily  pass  carelessly  over  any  hero's  youth,  even 
as  lightly,  perchance,  over  his  ancestry.  Not  so  in  the 
case  of  John  Rawn.  He  himself  would  say,  if  asked, 
that  no  hero  of  so  exceptional  a  merit  as  his  own  could 
be  thus  lightly  produced ;  that  indeed  not  even  the  three 


2  JOHN    RAWN 

generations  accorded  to  the  making  of  a  gentleman 
couid  be  called  sufficient  for  the  evolution  of  a  person 
age  of  mold  such  as  his.  Let  us  yield  to  a  will  so  im 
perious,  a  wish  so  germane  to  our  own  amiable  intent. 
Mr.  Rawn  shall  have  all  the  generations  that  he  likes. 


ii 

John  Rawn  might,  in  the  caretaking  plans  of  the 
immortal  gods,  have  been  born  at  any  time  in  the 
world's  history,  at  any  place  upon  the  world's  surface. 
He  himself,  had  he  been  consulted,  might  have  sug 
gested  Rome,  Greece,  or  mediaeval  England,  as  offering 
better  field  for  one  of  his  kidney.  He  might  have  indi 
cated  certain  resemblances  between  himself  and  per 
sons  who,  through  virtue  given  of  the  immortal  gods, 
have  attained  the  purple,  who  have  held  permanent 
and  admitted  ascendancy  over  their  fellow-men.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  however,  John  Rawn  was  born  in  Texas 
— and  of  Texas  at  the  very  spot  where,  had  it  been  left 
to  his  own  candid  opinion,  no  John  Rawn,  no  especial 
hero,  ought  ever  to  have  been  born.  The  village  he 
honored  by  his  birth — one  of  seven  which  now  contend 
over  that  claim  to  fame — was  the  very  home  of  demo 
cratic  equality ;  and  how  could  the  home  of  democratic 
equality  be  called  typical  environment  for  the  produc 
tion  of  a  man  believing  in  the  divine  right  of  a  very 
few? 

Neither,  had  John  Rawn  been  consulted  in  the  mat 
ter,  would  he  have  indorsed  the  plans  of  fate  in  respect 
to  his  ancestry  any  more  than  he  did  the  workings  of 
the  misguided  stars  in  regard  to  his  environment.  By 
right  he  should  have  been  the  offspring  of  parents  for 


CERTAIN  NOTABLE  DETAILS  IN  GENESIS    3 

long  generations  accustomed  to  rule,  to  command,  to 
sway  the  destinies  of  others.  Yet  far  from  this  was 
the  truth  in  our  hero's  case. 

Which  of  us  can  tell  what  is  in  an  infant's  mind? 
At  what  day  or  hour  of  a  child's  life  does  the  con 
sciousness  of  human  values  in  affairs  first  impinge  upon 
the  embryonic  mentality  ?  At  what  date,  first  feeling 
itself  human  and  not  plant,  not  oyster  nor  amceba,  can 
it  logically  begin  that  reproach  of  its  own  parentage 
which  to  so  many  of  us  is  held  as  a  personal  right, 
convenient  and  pleasant  because  it  explains  away  so 
rnany  things  by  way  of  human  failures  ?  At  what  time, 
at  what  moment  of  John  Rawn's  life  did  he,  lying  in 
his  cradle,  and  looking  up  for  the  first  conscious  time 
into  the  faces  solicitously  bending  above  him,  realize 
that  after  all,  in  spite  of  all  the  plans  of  the  watchful 
fates,  here  were  no  king  and  queen,  no  emperor  and 
empress  assigned  to  him  as  parents,  but  only  an  humble 
Methodist  preacher  and  his  still  more  humble  wife? 

Truly  here  was  hard  handicap  even  at  the  start,  that 
of  both  birth  and  environment,  as  he  himself  would 
have  been  first  to  admit.  Not  that  it  could  daunt  him, 
not  that  it  could  cause  a  soul  like  his  to  feel  the  pangs 
of  despair.  No;  it  meant  only  that  much  further  to 
travel,  that  much  higher  to  climb.  This  American  re 
public  was  expressly  framed  for  such  as  Mr.  Rawn. 
The  issue  never  was  to  be  called  in  doubt.  From  that 
first  hour  of  consciousness  of  his  ego  which  marks  the 
real  birth  of  a  human  soul,  John  Rawn  must  have  said 
to  himself  that  success  was  meant  for  him ;  that  not  all 
the  hostile  array  of  circumstances,  birth,  heredity  and 
environment,  could  do  more  than  temporarily  balk 
his  aim.  From  the  cradle,  indeed  for  generations  un- 


4  JOHN    RAWN 

counted — as  many  as  he  likes — before  the  cradle,  John 
Rawn  believed  in  himself.  How  can  we  fail  to  join 
him  in  that  belief? 

in 

It  was  rarely  that  ever  a  smile  enlivened  the  some 
what  heavy  features  of  young  John  Rawn,  even  in  the 
earliest  stages  of  his  babyhood.  Rarely  did  the  mirth 
of  any  situation  bring  up  in  his  face  an  answering 
dawn  of  appreciation.  He  was  a  serious  child,  as  all 
admitted  even  from  the  first.  He  grew  to  be  a  grave 
boy,  a  solemn  youth.  He  made  no  jests,  nor  smiled  at 
those  of  others.  There  was  a  corrugation  between  his 
brows  before  he  was  twenty  years  of  age.  In  his 
declamations  at  the  exercises  of  the  village  school,  his 
hand  went  instinctively  into  a  bosom  not  yet  ten  years 
of  age ;  his  forelock  fell  across  his  brow  before  he  was 
twelve;  already  his  gestures  were  large  and  wide,  his 
voice  prematurely  deep  before  he  had  reached  four 
teen.  He  was  of  that  temperament  which,  in 
accordance  with  the  term,  takes  itself  seriously.  It  is 
astonishing  what  virtue  lies  in  that  habit.  The  world, 
sometimes  for  many  years,  indeed  sometimes  per 
manently,  accepts  seriously  those  who  seriously  accept 
themselves.  Many  of  the  most  colossal  asses  ever  born 
have  not  "Ass"  written  on  their  tombstones,  where 
righteously  it  so  very  frequently  belongs  in  the  history 
of  the  great. 

IV 

Curious  persons  might  have  found  certain  explana 
tions  for  these  traits  in  the  calling,  the  temper  and 
training  of  the  father  of  John  Rawn.  In  that  time  and 


CERTAIN  NOTABLE  DETAILS  IN  GENESIS     5 

place,  a  minister  of  the  gospel  was  a  man  of  whom 
all  stood  in  awe.  He  was  not  much  gainsaid,  not  much 
withstood,  not  much  disapproved.  His  conclusions 
were  announced  for  acceptance,  not  for  argument.  At 
best  he  was  only  to  be  avoided,  if  one  dreaded  the  look 
of  the  clerical  eye,  the  denunciation  of  the  clerical 
tongue.  Other  men  might  be  met,  might  be  antago 
nized,  might  be  overcome  by  fist  or  thumb  or  firearms, 
per  example ;  not  so  the  parson  of  the  village  church. 
It  is  an  excellent  profession ;  that  of  minister  of  the 
gospel.  The  ranks  of  none  offer  better  men  than  the 
best  types  of  that  profession,  large  men,  strong  men, 
just  men,  not  doing  preaching  for  a  business,  but  really 
wishing  to  counsel  and  aid  frail  humanity  as  it  marches 
among  the  perpetual  pitfalls,  the  perpetual  hardships 
of  human  life.  It  is  an  exceedingly  good  religion  of 
itself,  that  merely  of  helping  your  fellow-man,  of  say 
ing  something  to  soften  and  better  him,  of  giving  to 
him  something  of  hope  and  courage  when  he  is  in  need 
of  them.  Let  tis  not  argue  whether  or  not  a  divine 
spirit  can  become  mortal,  whether  or  not  Christ  was 
divine.  We  know  by  virtue  of  abundant  human  testi 
mony  that  He  was  a  great  and  kindly  Man,  a  great  and 
adorable  Human  Being,  the  greatest  of  whom  we  know 
in  all  our  human  history.  And  that  man  who  makes 
the  creed  of  the  greatest  of  us  all  his  own,  who  lives 
kindly  and  helpfully  and  modestly,  with  no  blare  of 
trumpet,  doing  simply  and  silently  that  which  his  hu 
man  hands  find  to  do ;  that  man  nearest  to  the  greatest 
Man  of  whom  we  know,  the  one  who  went  closest  to 
making  human  life  endurable,  who  took  humanity  far 
thest  away  from  the  cruel  creed  of  the  jungle — that 
minister  of  the  gospel,  let  us  say  then,  who  lives  as  is 


6  JOHN    RAWN 

possible  for  one  of  his  calling-  to  live,  and  attains  in  that 
calling  what  may  be  attained,  may  be,  and  not  infre 
quently  is,  a  splendid  human  being. 

But  he  is  worth  our  admiration  when  he  is  worth  it ; 
not  necessarily  otherwise.  A  minister  of  the  gospel 
may  not  always  be  the  central  figure  of  that  religious 
fervor  which  has  come  sporadically  and  spasmodically 
to  men  under  many  creeds,  since  man  began  to  think 
aloud,  to  doubt  and  despair  in  public,  and  to  pray  in 
company.  Besides,  there  are  ministers  and  ministers. 
Some  are  men  naturally  large  and  are  so  accepted. 
Others,  alas !  bulk  larger  than  really  they  are,  by  virtue 
of  the  fact  that  always  they  apparently  have  prevailed ; 
whereas,  in  truth,  they  only  have  met  small  opposition. 

Tis  a  sweet  fashion  of  life  which  allows  us  always 
to  have  our  own  way!  Nor  is  it  to  be  denied  that 
when  the  preacher  stands  before  the  flock,  his  disor 
dered  hair  falling  above  his  brow,  his  eyes  flashing, 
his  breath  sobbing  in  his  emotion ;  when  he  hurls 
out  questions  to  which  he  knows  there  will  be  no  an 
swer;  when  he  makes  one  assertion  after  another  to 
which  he  knows  there  is  to  be  no  contradiction ;  when 
he  rules,  sways,  expounds,  glorifies,  waxing  greater  in 
stature  out  of  the  very  situation  in  which  he  stands — • 
let  us  not  deny  that  he  is  then  in  the  way — the  simple 
and  forgivably  human  way — of  coming  more  and  more 
into  the  belief  that  he  himself  is  as  great  as  the  doc 
trines  which  he  expounds.  There  are  martyrs  in  his 
tory  because  of  human  convictions  which  led  them  to 
contradict  the  church.  There  are  other  and  far  more 
numerous  martyrs,  made  such  because  they  dared  not 
contradict  it. 

Given,  then,  a  man  of  rawboned  frame,  of  vii-1e 


CERTAIN  NOTABLE  DETAILS  IN  GENESIS    7 

physical  health,  and  of  pronouncedly  good  opinion  of 
himself,  this  is  perhaps  the  very  profession  of  all  others 
which  would  be  most  apt  to  build  up  that  man  in  his 
own  eyes  into  a  personage  of  considerable  stature. 
Such  a  man  might  easily  regard  himself  as  set  apart 
from  his  fellow  human  beings — a  feeling  which  Christ 
Himself  never  had,  nor  any  great  man  in  or  out  of  his 
tory  before  Him  or  after  Him.  It  is  understandable 
that  such  a  man,  of  such  a  profession,  might  be  the  very 
one  to  find  his  philosophy  feeding  upon  itself ;  with  the 
net  result  of  an  inordinate,  ingrown  egotism.  And 
this  ingrown  egotism  in  himself  might,  in  the  case  of 
his  son,  become  an  egotism  congenital.  There  are  min 
isters  of  the  gospel,  and  other  ministers  of  the  gospel. 
John  Rawn,  Senior,  was  of  this  particular  and  less  de 
sirable  sort.  We  mention  him,  having  promised  our 
hero  all  the  analysis  and  all  the  generations  he  may 
desire;  and  being,  moreover,  commendably  anxious 
fully  to  account  for  him  and  his  many  noteworthy  pecu 
liarities. 


Had  John  Rawn,  our  hero,  been  able  in  his  child 
hood  to  figure  out  that,  after  all,  God  and  the  undying 
stars  had  no  special  grudge  against  him  in  assigning 
his  birth  to  a  humble  inland  village ;  had  he  been  able 
to  picture  to  himself  his  real  value  as  a  human  unit; 
had  he  been  able  to  understand  his  own  explanation, 
— that  is  to  say  this  explanation  of  him  which  we  so 
patiently  have  given — had  he  been  able  to  qualify  his 
own  mind  as  that  of  a  congenital  egotist,  and  hence 
to  see  himself  naturally  come  by  certain  phases  of  his 
character — he  might  have  smiled  and  have  been  differ- 


8  JOHN    RAWN 

ent.  He  might  one  day  have  extended  his  hand  to  his 
fellow-man  understandingly,  might  have  gone  through 
life  much  as  other  men  indeed,  dying  simply  and  with 
out  much  outcry  about  it,  as  most  of  us  do,  and  living 
with  small  disturbance  of  the  world's  equilibrium,  as 
most  of  us  also  do.  But  in  that  deplorable  case  there 
would  have  been  no  John  Rawn  as  we  know  him,  and 
no  story  about  himi  worth  the  telling.  Let  us,  there 
fore,  beg  to  disagree  even  with  him,  and  not  hold  it  as 
entire  misfortune  that  he  was  born  in  an  unstoried 
spot,  and  of  parents  one  of  whom,  by  reason  of  his 
natural  character  and  of  his  calling,  was  wont  to  con 
sider  himself  the  partner,  and  not  necessarily  the  jun 
ior  partner,  of  a  Divine  Providence. 


CHAPTER  II 

PURELY   INCIDENTAL 


TO  be  sure  John  Rawn  had  a  mother,  but  that  is 
merely  an  incidental  matter  for  one  who  really  was 
brooded  among  the  spheres,  and  who  accepted  a 
mother  only  as  a  necessary  means  to  incarnation.  We 
need  accord  no  more  than  scant  time  to  a  mere  mother. 
There  was  in  the  character  of  the  elder  Rawn's  wife 
little  to  offset  the  tendencies  transmitted  by  the  father. 
Had  she  herself  been  a  trace  further  removed  from 
the  blind  submission  of  a  jungle  past  in  womanhood, 
it  might  have  been  that  the  offspring  of  these  two 
had  been  accorded  a  better  insight  into  the  real  situa 
tion  of  mankind,  might  perhaps  even  have  been  given 
a  saving  sense  of  humor,  a  better  valuation  of  human 
affairs  as  pertaining  to  himself,  and  of  himself  as  re 
lated  to  human  affairs.  The  truth,  however,  is  that 
Mrs.  Rawn,  the  preacher's  wife,  was  simply  a  preach 
er's  wife.  She  was  a  machine  for  gratifying  a  certain 
part  of  her  husband's  nature,  a  well-nigh  apogamic 
contrivance  for  rearing  children,  an  appliance  for  tend 
ing  tables  and  sweeping  carpets,  and  going  to  prayer 
meetings,  or  perhaps — on  rare  and  much-coveted  occa- 

9 


io  JOHN   RAWN 

sions — for  acting  as  witness  in  parsonage  marriage 
ceremonies,  the  which  might  haply  produce  a  fee  from 
the  bridegroom,  temporarily  generous ;  which  fee,  in  a 
moment  of  aberration,  might  even  pass  from  parson 
to  parson's  wife.  It  is  decreed  that  the  background  of 
a  ministerial  life  shall  be  of  neutral  hue,  in  order  that 
the  more  brilliantly  shall  shine  the  central  figure  of  the 
scheme.  The  minister  himself,  unctuous,  bland,  grows 
less  unctuous  and  bland  as  he  turns  from  some  come- 
lier  sister  to  his  own  partner  in  life,  colorless,  silent, 
dutiful,  devoted.  There  is  but  one  family  perihelion, 
and  he  is  the  one  planet  thereat.  At  most  a  pale  and 
distant  moon  may  circle  about  him,  perhaps  concerned 
with  domestic  tides,  but  not  admittedly  related  to  the 
affairs  of  night  and  day. 

It  is  not  -known,  nor  is  it  important,  whence  Mrs. 
Rawn  came,  or  how  she  happened  to  marry  her  lord, 
John  Rawn,  Senior,  the  Methodist  preacher  in  the  little 
Texas  town.  They  were  married  when  they  arrived  at 
this  place,  and  had  been  for  some  years.  No  one 
knows  whence  they  came,  no  man  can  tell  whither  they 
have  gone.  John  was  the  first  child  granted  to  them 
as  answer  to  his  father's  grumbling;  the  latter,  very 
nobly  and  righteously,  dreading  what  calamity  the 
world  must  suffer  did  none  come  to  perpetuate  his 
race.  He  was  a  great  preacher.  He  had  swayed  his 
multitudes.  He  had  seen  a  hundred  souls,  as  he 
termed  them,  grovelling  upon  the  floor  in  the  height 
of  some  revival  when  the  grace  of  the  Lord  had  moved 
itself  mightily  upon  the  people,  thanks  to  him,  partner 
upon  the  ground,  whose  voice  had  prevailed  thereabout. 
It  would  cause  any  just  man  to  shudder — the  mere 
thought  of  such  merit  lacking  progeny.  But  the  prayers 


PURELY    INCIDENTAL  n 

of  the  righteous  avail  much.  He  had,  at  last,  a  son,  our 
hero;  none  less. 

II 

These  necessary  and  essential  preliminaries  now  all 
stand  adjusted ;  and  we  are  able  finally  to  say  that 
John  Rawn  at  least  and  at  last  was  born,  silently, 
quietly,  with  small  rebellion  on  the  part  of  his  mother. 
He  lay  there  in  his  first  cradle,  silent,  a  trifle  red,  a 
slight  frown  upon  his  face,  a  trace  of  gravity  in  his 
features,  as  he  ventured  an  introspective  look  within 
the  confines  of  his  couch,  and  for  the  first  time  dis 
covered  that  wholly  interesting,  remarkable,  indeed 
wonderful  human  being,  Himself. 

Having  assured  himself  that  he  was  here,  John 
Rawn  sighed,  turned  over  in  his  cradle,  and  presently 
fell  asleep,  well  assured  that,  although  He  had  selected 
Texas  for  this  event,  God  after  all  was  in  His  heaven, 
and  that,  in  the  circumstance,  all  in  due  time  would  be 
well  writh  the  world.  Could  any  hero  of  his  years  have 
acted  with  a  finer,  a  larger  generosity? 


CHAPTER  III 

IN   VICTORY   GENEROUS 


THE  youth  of  John  Rawn  early  began  to  show  that 
consistency  in  character  which  marked  him  later 
in  his  life.  From  the  first,  as  we  have  said,  he  took 
himself  seriously;  indeed,  regarded  himself  with  a 
reverence  akin  almost  to  solemnity.  Plain  wonder  pos 
sessed  his  soul  when  any  event  fell  not  wholly  to  his 
liking.  If  the  hand  that  rocked  his  cradle  failed  from 
weariness,  his  reproof  was  not  so  much  that  of  anger 
or  expostulation  as  that  of  an  aggrieved  surprise. 
When  first  he  began  to  walk  he  gravely  reserved  to 
himself  the  spotlight  of  all  solar  or  sewing  circles. 
Ladies  visiting  the  parsonage  unconsciously  accepted 
his  estimate  of  himself,  even  in  those  days.  Famil 
iarities  were  not  for  such  a  child  as  this.  It  began  to 
be  rumored  about  that  here  was  one  set  apart  for  great 
things.  Most  frequently  parents  are  alone  in  this 
manner  of  belief  as  to  their  offspring ;  but  the  severity 
of  countenance,  the  grave  assuredness  of  young  John 
Rawn,  forced  this  belief  upon  the  entire  community. 
A  calm,  serene  certainty  of  himself  was  written  on 
his  brow. 

Youth  is  for  the  most  part  irreverent  of  other  youth, 
12 


IN   VICTORY   GENEROUS  13 

that  is  true,  and  at  times  young  Mr.  Rawn  was  rudely 
handled  by  others  of  his  age.  In  such  cases  tears  came 
to  his  eyes  forsooth,  but  not  tears  of  mere  anger  or 
anguish.  They  were  tears  of  surprise,  of  regret,  of 
wonder!  His  protest,  when  he  fled  to  the  comfort  of 
his  mother's  bosom,  was  not  of  unmanly  weakness,  but 
of  astonishment  and  incredulous  surprise  that  any 
should  have  smitten  the  Lord's  anointed.  This  sur 
prise  for  the  most  part  prevented  him  either  from 
turning  the  other  cheek,  or  smiting  the  cheek  of  the 
oppressor ;  one  or  the  other  of  which  courses,  it  must  be 
admitted,  commonly  is  held  admirable  among  men,  and 
especially  among  heroes. 

In  his  younger  school-days  there  was  a  way  about 
young  Mr.  Rawn.  He  did  not  really  care  for  plodding, 
yet  he  was  aggrieved  if  not  accorded  rank  among  his 
fellow  pupils.  His  spelling,  not  of  the  best  in  the  be 
lief  of  others,  seemed  to  him  quite  good  enough,  be 
cause  it  was  his  own.  When  sent  to  the  foot  of  the 
class  he  departed  thither  with  a  bearing  wholly  dig 
nified  and  calm. 

Even  in  these  early  days  his  features  were  in  large 
mold,  even  then  his  abundant  hair  fell  across  his 
brow.  His  eyes  were  blue  and  prominent,  his  nose 
distinct,  his  lower  lip  prominent,  protruding  and  in 
times  of  great  emotion  semi-pendulous.  Even  thus 
early  he  seemed  old,  serious,  foreordained.  To  tell  a 
being  such  as  this  that  he  could  not  spell  was  mere 
lese  majeste.  He  stalked  through  school,  set  apart  by 
fate  from  his  fellow-beings,  amenable  to  few  rules,  su 
perior  to  such  restrictions  as  commonly  hedge  in  lesser 
souls  orthographically,  socially,  or  otherwise. 

Much  of  this  might  have  been  remedied  by  kindly 


14  JOHN    RAWN 

application  of  educational  or  parental  rod,  but  young 
Mr.  Rawn  remained  largely  unchastened.  His  parents 
did  not  care  to  punish  him,  and  his  teacher  did  not 
dare  to  do  so.  Was  he  not  the  minister's  son?  If  his 
mother  had  misgivings  they  were  well  concealed.  She 
herself  only  shuddered  in  her  soul  when  she  heard  the 
orotund  voice  of  the  master  of  the  house  explain,  in 
contemplation  of  his  first  born,  "How  much  he  is  like 
me!"  Yes,  he  was  like.  His  mother  knew  how  like. 


ii 

At  that  time  and  in  that  part  of  the  country  this 
little  western  village  might  have  been  called  almost  a 
little  world  of  itself.  Estimates  of  men  and  affairs 
were  such  only  as  might  grow  out  of  the  soil.  The 
great  world  beyond  was  a  thing  but  vaguely  sensed  of 
any  who  dwelt  here.  The  town  was  apart  from  the 
nearest  railway,  in  a  section  where  rural  simplicity 
amounted  at  times  almost  to  frontier  savagery.  Now 
and  then  a  lynching  broke  the  quiet  of  the  community. 
The  local  vices  and  virtues  came  out  of  a  life  but  re 
cently  individual  and  unrestrained.  It  seemed  only 
chance  that  young  Rawn  did  not  run  wild,  like  many 
other  of  the  youth  of  that  town,  who,  trained  by  cus 
tom  in  arms  and  excess,  disappeared  from  time  to  time, 
passing  on  to  the  frontier,  then  not  remote. 

Why  did  not  John  Rawn  naturally  trend  toward 
violence,  why  did  the  frontier  not  call  out  to  him? 
There  was  one  great  reason — he  was  a  coward. 

Cowardice  is  a  trait  sometimes  handed  down  from 
father  to  son,  indeed  most  usually  it  comes  of  heredity 
or  ill-health.  Sometimes  it  is  fought  down  by  reason, 


IN    VICTORY    GENEROUS  15 

sometimes  it  is  long  concealed  by  artifice.  Often  it  is 
hidden  behind  physical  stature.  Most  frequently  it  is 
left  unsuspected,  sheltered  behind  an  air  of  dignity. 
Money  conceals  much  of  it.  Young  Rawn  was  much 
like  his  father  before  him.  Perhaps  his  father  never 
had  stopped  to  think  that  personal  conclusions  were 
matters  he  had  never  been  called  upon  to  carry  to  an 
end  with  any  fellow-man.  Peter  Cartwright  was  no 
saint  of  his.  There  was  no  need,  in  his  belief,  to  put 
spiritual  or  mental  questions  to  the  acid  and  unpleas 
ant  test  of  physical  contact.  The  son,  given  by  nature 
a  considerable  stature  and  gravity  for  his  years,  con 
tinued  in  the  same  fiction,  not  suspecting  that  it  was 
fiction.  There  were  larger  boys  than  he,  but  chivalry 
restrained  these.  There  were  smaller  boys  than  he, 
but  these  feared  him  by  reason  of  the  valor  which  it 
was  supposed  he  owned.  The  ranks  of  life  opened 
before  him  readily  and  easily.  He  stalked  forward, 
with  small  opposition,  accepted  at  his  own  estimate  of 
himself;  as  presently  we  shall  set  forth  in  many  valu 
able  instances. 

in 

It  may  be  supposed  that,  in  a  rural  community  of 
this  sort,  living  was  cut  down  pretty  much  to  the  bone 
of  actual  necessities.  There  was  no  excess  of  comfort, 
and,  although  there  was  little  lack,  luxury  was  a  thing 
undreamed.  Transportation  was  in  that  day  costly 
and  inefficient,  the  world  not  so  small  then  as  it  is  now, 
so  that  there  was  less  interchange  of  the  products  of 
distant  countries  and  localities.  For  instance,  there 
were  orange  groves  within  three  hundred  miles  of  this 
little  village,  yet  rarely  was  an  orange  to  be  seen  there. 


16  JOHN   RAWN 

Flour,  salt,  coffee,  bacon,  Bibles,  six-shooters,  essential 
things,  were  carried  thither,  not  luxuries  and  trifles. 
The  family  was  its  own  world.  In  large  part,  it  tilled 
its  own  fields  and  ran  its  own  factories.  Mrs.  Rawn 
molded  the  candles  which  made  the  bedroom  lights 
and  those  by  which  she  sewed — though  not  that  by 
which  her  husband  read  and  wrote — in  a  kettle  in  the 
backyard  at  butchering  times,  when  suet  came  the  par 
son's  way.  She  made  her  husband's  long  black  coats, 
building  them  upon  some  prehistoric  pattern.  She 
made,  mended  and  washed  his  shirts,  hemmed  his 
stocks  and  darned  his  socks  for  him.  Using  the  out 
worn  ministerial  cloth  in  turn,  she  made  also,  in  due 
time,  the  garments  of  the  son  and  heir,  even  building 
for  him  a  cap,  with  ear-lappets,  for  winter  use.  Her 
own  garments  might  have  been  seen  by  the  most  cas 
ual  eye  to  have  been  the  product  of  her  own  hands. 
Yet,  this  home  was  not  much  different  from  others, 
where  countless  things  then  were  done  domestically 
which  now  are  fabricated  in  factories  and  purchased 
through  many  middlemen.  The  lockstep  of  our  civ 
ilization  was  not  then  so  fully  in  force. 

Money  was  a  rare  commodity  in  any  such  commu 
nity,  and  any  manner  of  personal  indulgence  was  for 
but  few.  If,  for  instance,  there  was  beef  on  the 
parsonage  table,  it  was  the  parson  alone  who  ate  it, 
not  his  wife.  Once  he  came  home  with  two  lemons, 
which  had  been  given  him,  perhaps  as  a  peace-offering, 
by  a  generous  storekeeper.  These  he  ordered  made 
forthwith  into  lemonade ;  the  which,  forthwith  also,  he 
himself  drank,  offering  none  to  the  sharer  of  his  joys ; 
nor  did  she  find  anything  either  unusual  or  reproach- 
worthy  in  this  act.  You  wonder  at  these  things? 


IN  ^VICTORY  GENEROUS  17 

They  happened  in  another  day,  among  people  with 
whom  you  could  not  be  expected  to  be  familiar — your 
fathers  and  mothers;  persons  not  in  the  least  of  our 
class. 

IV 

In  these  circumstances — since  we  Have  promised 
value  in  some  specific  instance — a  certain  interest  at 
taches  to  a  little  event  which  nowhere  else,  save  in 
some  such  village,  would  have  been  noted  or  could 
have  been  possible.  The  leading  local  merchant,  in  a 
burst  of  enterprise,  had  imported  a  couple  of  clusters 
of  bananas  from  New  Orleans,  the  first  ever  brought 
into  the  town.  For  a  time  none  of  the  citizens  pur 
chased,  and,  indeed,  it  required  the  grudging  gift  of 
a  banana  or  so  to  establish  a  local  demand.  Then — 
builded  on  the  assurance  of  a  wise  and  much-traveled 
citizen  who  had  once  eaten  a  banana  at  Fort  Worth 
— the  rumor  of  the  bananas  passed  rapidly  through  the 
town.  Swiftly  it  became  an  important  thing  to  an 
nounce  to  a  neighbor  that  one  had  eaten  of  this  fruit. 
In  time,  even  children  partook  thereof. 

At  this  time  young  Mr.  Rawn  was  six  years  of  age, 
and  by  reason  of  his  years  and  his  social  position  at 
least  as  much  entitled  to  bananas  as  any  of  his  like 
thereabout.  Yet,  he  had  none.  The  tragedy  of  this 
wrung  his  mother's  soul.  Was  it  to  be  thought  that 
this,  her  son,  should  be  denied  any  of  the  good  things 
of  life,  that  he  should  have  less  than  equal  enjoyment 
of  life's  privileges  in  the  company  of  his  fellows?  The 
climax  came  when  young  Mr.  Rawn  himself  ap 
proached  his  mother's  knee,  with  wonder  and  surprise 
upon  his  face,  inquiring  why  others  had  bananas,  while 


i8  JOHN   RAWN 

he  himself,  the  Lord's  anointed,  and  son  of  the  Lord's 
anointed,  had  none.  It  was  at  that  time  that  his 
mother  somewhat  furtively  stole  awray  down  the  village 
street.  She  had  a  few  coppers,  saved  by  such  hook 
and  crook  as  you  and  I  may  not  know,  and  these  she 
now  proposed  to  devote  to  a  holy  cause. 

It  was  at  about  this  same  time,  also,  that  there 
chanced  to  pass  by,  on  the  sidewalk  in  front  of  the  par 
sonage,  two  boys  younger  than  John  Rawn  himself. 
These  he  regarded  intently,  for  he  saw  from  a  distance 
that  each  had  some  suspicious  object  in  his  hand.  His 
own  suspicions  became  certainties.  Here  was  visible 
proof  that  they,  mere  common  persons,  were  owners 
.of  specimens  of  that  fruit  whose  excellence  was  ru 
mored  throughout  the  town.  They  ate,  or  were  about  to 
eat,  while  he  did  not !  They  had  luxuries  while  he  had 
none !  They  had  not  asked  his  permission,  yet  they 
ate !  Form  this  picture  well  in  your  mind,  oh,  gentle 
reader.  It  is  that  of  John  Rawn  and  ourselves. 

With  great  gravity  and  dignity  young  Mr.  Rawn 
stalked  down  the  brick  walk  to  the  front  gate  of  the 
parsonage  yard.  Calmly,  with  no  word,  but  with  up 
lifted  hand — nay,  merely  by  his  stately  dignity — he 
barred  the  progress  of  these  two.  They  paused,  un 
certain.  Then  he  held  out  his  hand,  and,  with  a  growl 
of  command,  demanded  of  these  others  that  which 
they  had  regarded  as  their  own.  He  took  it  as  mat 
ter  of  course  that  Caesar  should  have  the  things  that 
were  Caesar's ;  and  they  who  give  tribute  to  our  Caesars 
now,  gave  it  then. 

Having  possession  of  these  bananas,  which  as  yet 
remained  unbroken  of  their  owners,  young  Mr.  Rawn 
showed  them  that,  although  these  fruits  were  unfami- 


IN    VICTORY    GENEROUS  19 

liar  to  their  former  owners,  they  made  no  enigma  to  a 
person  of  his  powers.  As  though  he  had  done  nothing 
else  all  his  life,  he  broke  open  the  tender  skin  and  re 
moved  the  soft  interior  contents.  After  this  he  handed 
back  to  each  of  his  young  friends  the  disrupted  and 
now  empty  skins.  Yet,  with  much  kindness,  he  ex 
plained  to  both  that  at  the  bottom  of  each  husk  or 
envelope  there  still  remained  some  portion  of  edible 
contents  which,  with  care  upon  their  part,  might  yet 
be  rescued.  They  departed,  wondering  somewhat,  but 
glad  they  had  been  shown  how  this  thing  was  done ; 
even  as  you  and  I  humbly  thank  our  great  men  for  rob 
bing  us  to-day. 

Young  Mr.  Rawn,  age  six,  turned  now  with  much 
dignity  back  to  the  gallery  from  which  he  had  with 
much  dignity  come.  He  seated  himself  calmly  upon 
the  chair  and  began  to  eat  that  which  had  been  given 
him  of  fate,  that  which  had  been  brought  to  Caesar  as 
a  thing  due  to  Caesar.  He  ate  until  at  last,  wearied 
with  his  labors,  he  fell  asleep. 


Note  now  our  humble  moral  in  this  short  and  sim 
ple  detail  of  our  hero's  early  years.  He  was  at  this 
moment  more  nearly  full  of  bananas  than  any  other 
human  being  in  all  the  village  at  that  time.  Yet  he 
had  attained  that  success  at  no  price  save  that  of  the 
exercise  of  the  resources  of  his  mind.  That  is  genius. 
Let  us  not  smile  at  young  Mr.  Rawn. 

His  mother,  stealing  home  by  the  back  way  with 
yet  other  bananas  concealed  in  her  apron,  presently 
came  upon  him  and  discovered  that,  after  all,  her  solic- 


20  JOHN   RAWN 

itude  had  not  been  needful.  Her  son  slept,  his  lower 
lip  protruding,  his  features  grave,  his  legs  somewhat 
sprawled  apart,  his  mid-body  somewhat  distended,  his 
head  sunken  forward,  his  hands  drooping  at  his  side. 
In  one  hand,  clutched  so  tightly  as  to  have  become  a 
somewhat  worthless  pulp,  his  mother  discovered  the 
bulk  of  several  bananas ;  in  short,  the  full  quota  which 
had  been  assigned  to  two  of  his  fellow-beings.  It  was 
genius ! 

Even  at  that  time  there  departed  up  the  village 
street  those  which  had  given,  tribute  to  Caesar.  They 
regarded  with  a  certain  curiosity  the  empty  husks  which 
had  been  returned  to  them — even  as  you  and  I  regard 
the  husks  accorded  us  by  overgreat  men  to-day.  From 
time  to  time  each  nibbled,  with  small  return,  although 
as'  per  instructions,  at  the  base  from  which  the  main 
fruit  had  been  broken.  Witness  the  difference  among 
men.  These  had  bananas  for  which  something  had 
been  paid.  John  Rawn  had  many,  better  and  bigger 
bananas,  for  which  nothing  at  all  had  been  paid !  In 
return  for  them  he  had  shown  their  late  owners  how 
to  open  a  banana.  For  the  later  opening  of  that  which 
in  our  parlance  we  call  the  melon,  John  Rawn  was  now 
decently  under  way.  Already  he  was  showing  him 
self  to  be  a  captain  among  men. 

His  mother  looked  upon  him  as  he  slept  sprawled 
in  his  repletion  and  made  no  attempt  to  remove  the  un 
eaten  fruit  from  his  hands;  indeed,  made  no  query  as 
to  where  he  had  obtained  it.  She  did  not  disturb  his 
slumbers.  "How  like  his  father  he  is !"  she  whispered 
to  herself,  mindful  of  certain  lemons,  certain  beef 
steaks,  certain  wedding  fees,  certain  gone  and  wasted 
years.  She  did  not  say :  "How  dear  he  is,  how  sweet, 


IN   VICTORY   GENEROUS  21 

how  manly,  how  brave,  how  decent,  how  chivalrous !" 
No,  with  a  slight  tightening  of  the  lips  as  she  turned 
back  to  find  her  belated  sewing,  she  spoke,  as  though  to 
herself,  and  with  no  peculiar  glorying  in  her  voice, 
"How  like  he  is  to  his  father!"  And  so  took  up  her 
burden. 


CHAPTER  IV 


IN   LOVE   SUCCESSFUL 


CfT3UT,   my   dear — but  Laura,   you   don't   stop   to 

-U  think!"  exclaimed  a  certain  young  man  to  a 
certain  young  woman,  at  a  somewhat  interesting  and 
important  moment  of  their  lives.  "You  certainly  do 
not  mean  to  say — to  tell  me — to  tell  me!  Why — !" 

He  ceased,  a  gasp  in  his  throat  at  the  unbelievable 
effrontery  of  the  woman  who  faced  him  in  this  situa 
tion.  All  he  had  asked  of  her  was  to  marry  him.  And 
she  had  hesitated.  It  was  a  thing  incredible! 

It  was  Mr.  Rawn,  our  hero.  It  could  have  been  al 
most  no  one  else  who  could  have  sustained  precisely 
this  attitude  at  precisely  such  a  time.  It  was  not  de 
spair,  disappointment,  anger,  chagrin,  pique,  regret  or 
resentment  that  marked  his  tones,  but  surprise,  aston 
ishment  !  Yes,  it  must  have  been  John  Rawn. 

As  to  the  young  woman  herself,  who  now  turned  a 
somewhat  pale  face  to  one  side  as  she  left  her  hand  in 
his,  she  might  have  been  any  one  of  many  thousand 
others  in  that  city.  Her  hair  was  brown,  her  features 
regular  enough,  her  complexion  nondescript,  her  garb 
non-committal.  Not  a  person  of  ancient  lineage,  you 
would  have  said,  or  of  much  education  in  the  world's 

22 


IN    LOVE    SUCCESSFUL  23 

ways,  or  of  much  worldly  goods — these  things  do  not 
always  come  to  a  saleswoman  of  twenty-five,  whose 
salary  is  six  dollars  a  week.  Yet  her  face  had  in  it 
now  a  very  sweet  sort  of  womanliness,  her  mouth  a 
tender  droop  to  it.  Her  eyes  shone  with  that  look 
which  comes  to  a  woman's  eyes  when  first  she  hears 
the  declaration  of  man's  love — the  most  glorious  and 
most  tragic  moment  in  all  a  woman's  life. 

The  fates  ordain  which  of  these  it  shall  be — glory 
or  tragedy.  Laura  Johnson  could  not  tell,  cry  in  her 
soul  as  she  might  for  some  forecast  shadow  from  the 
land  of  fates  to  show,  visibly,  upon  the  subconscious 
screen  hidden  in  a  girl's  heart,  the  figure  of  the  truth. 
All  this  was  different  from  what  she  had  pictured  it 
to  be.  She  had  thought  that  love  would  come  in  some 
tender  yet  imperious  way,  that  she  would  know  some 
sudden  wave  of  content  and  trust  and  assuredness. 
There  was  on  her  plain,  severe  face,  now  a  wistfulness 
that  almost  glorified  it  after  all.  For,  indeed,  our  hu 
man  loving  is  most  dignified  and  glorious  in  what  it 
desires  love  to  be. 

He  leaned  again  toward  her,  insistent,  frowning,  im 
perious.  This  was  as  she  had  planned.  What,  then, 
lacked?  If  she  had  sought  for  some  strong  man  to 
sweep  her  from  her  calm,  why  was  she  now  so  calm? 
She  asked  this  swiftly,  vaguely,  wonderingly,  demand 
ing  to  be  told  by  these  same  fates  which  had  implanted 
doubt  in  her  heart,  whether  this  was  all  that  she  might 
ever  hope,  whether  this  insufficient  fashion  was  the 
way  in  which  it  came  to  all  women — had  come,  always, 
to  all  the  women  of  the  world. 

"You  surely  do  not  stop  to  consider,"  he  renewed. 
"Why,  look  at  me!" 


24  JOHN    RAWN 

She  did  look  at  him,  turning  about,  pushing  him 
away  from  her  that  she  might,  in  that  one  moment  of 
a  woman's  privilege,  look  at  the  being  demanding  of 
her  her  own  life.  What  she  saw  was  not  an  ill-looking 
young  man  of  twenty-nine,  of  rather  heavy  features, 
rather  a  frowning  brow,  a  somewhat  prominent  light 
eye,  a  somewhat  pendulous  lower  lip,  abundant  dark 
ish  hair,  abundant  confidence  in  himself.  He  was  tall- 
ish,  well  built,  strong,  seemed  somewhat  of  a  man, 
yes.  And  he  loved  her.  At  least  he  had  said  he  did. 

Laura  Johnson  did  stop  to  consider.  She  considered 
the  face  which  she  saw  in  the  glass  beyond  his  shoul 
der — her  own  face,  not  strikingly  handsome.  "I  might 
be  any  one  of  a  hundred  girls/'  she  said  to  herself.  "I 
might  be  any  one  of  those  other  hundreds  who  might 
be  sought  out  instead  of  myself,"  said  she.  "A  girl 
of  my  looks  and  place  in  life  is  not  apt  to  have  hun 
dreds  of  opportunities.  And  I  am  tired,  and  puzzled. 
And  I  want  a  home.  I  want  to  stop  worrying  for  my 
self.  I  would  rather  worry  for  some  one  else.  I  want 
to  be — "  There  she  paused. 

She  wanted  to  be  a  wife,  loved,  cherished,  supported, 
comforted  and  protected.  That  was  what  she  wanted, 
though  the  young  of  the  female  sex  do  not  know  what 
they  want  or  why  they  want  it.  And  certainly  she 
could  choose  only  among  the  opportunities  offered  her. 
This  was  her  first  opportunity.  It  might  be  her  last. 
Besides  all  of  this,  she  was  a  woman.  She  had  always 
obeyed  men  all  her  life,  at  home,  in  her  daily  labors, 
everywhere.  And  this  man  was  so  insistent,  so  assured, 
so  confident  that  this  was  the  right  and  inevitable 
course  for  her — why,  he  said  it  again  and  again — that 
surely — so  she  reasoned — she  must  be  crazed  not  to  see 


IN   LOVE   SUCCESSFUL  25 

that  this  was  the  appointed  time,  that  this  was  the 
appointed  man. 

She  sighed  a  trifle  as  she  laid  aside  the  garment  of 
her  girlhood,  which  had  kept  her  sweet  and  clean  for 
five  and  twenty  years.  She  folded  both  her  worn  and 
rather  bony  hands,  put  them  both  in  his,  and  said,  with 
a  little  smile  that  ought  to  have  wrung  his  heart,  "Well, 
John,  if— if  it  must  be!" 

He  did  not  catch  the  little  sob  in  her  voice.  He 
never  knew,  either  then  or  at  any  other  time  in  his 
life,  what  it  was  that  lacked  in  her  voice,  her  face,  in 
her  heart,  indeed.  He  never  knew,  then  or  at  any  other 
time,  what  a  woman  is,  what  she  covets,  longs  for, 
craves,  desires,  demands,  requires  passionately,  prizes 
agonizingly  to  the  last,  the  very  last.  He  did  not  waste 
time  to  query  over  these  unimportant  things.  He 
drew  her  to  him  with  rude  care,  kissed  her  fair  and 
full,  and  then  rose. 

"Well,  then,  I'm  sure  we're  going  to  do  well  together, 
Laura,  dear." 

She  did  not  answer,  but  sat  waiting,  longing  eagerly 
for  something  she  lacked,  she  knew  not  what. 

John  Rawn  looked  at  his  watch,  turned  for  his  hat, 
and  remarked,  "I'll  be  here  to-morrow  night,  dear,  at 
half-past  seven.  Right  after  supper." 


II 

Our  hero,  John  Rawn,  had  grown  up  much  as  he 
was  planned  to  be.  Since  we  have  been  liberal  in  re 
gard  to  his  genesis  before  he  arrived  in  the  little  Texas 
town,  let  us  be  niggardly  as  to  his  exodus  therefrom, 
for  that  is  less  in  importance.  It  may  be  seen  that 


26  JOHN   RAWN 

he  has  grown,  through  what  commonplace  conditions 
let  us  not  ask.  As  he  himself  never  stopped  to  think, 
after  his  arrival  in  St.  Louis  to  seek  his  fortune, 
whether  or  not  his  parents  still  were  living,  we  our 
selves  need  ask  no  more  than  he.  Since  he  by  now  had 
well-nigh  forgotten  the  scenes  of  his  youth,  so  may 
we  forget  them.  He  had  come  to  this  northern  city  to 
seek  his  fortune.  Here  was  a  part  of  it,  as  he  coolly  rea 
soned.  What  is  especially  worth  noting  is  that  he  still 
mentioned  his  evening  meal  as  supper — and  not  as 
dinner. 

These  twain,  about  to  be  one  flesh,  as  witness  their 
sober  speech,  both  ate  supper,  and  not  dinner,  and  had 
done  so  most  of  their  lives.  They  came  out  of  middle 
class  circumstances,  very  similar  in  each  case.  Their 
lives  had  been  much  similar.  They  both  had  come  to 
the  city  to  seek  their  fortunes.  She  had  found  hers 
behind  a  dry-goods  counter,  he  his — temporarily  and 
in  sufferance,  of  course — as  an  ill-paid  clerk  in  a  rail 
way  office.  They  met  now  and  then  as  they  passed  out 
for  luncheon,  met  betimes  at  evening  as  they  started 
home.  For  a  time  they  met  also  in  the  same  boarding 
place,  where  they  had  rooms  not  far  apart.  It  was 
perhaps  propinquity  that  did  it.  When  this  thought 
came  to  Laura  Johnson,  with  her  first  realization  that 
perhaps  this  young  man  was  making  love  to  her,  or 
was  apt  to  do  so,  she  changed  her  boarding  place  at 
once,  actuated  by  some  indefinable  feeling  of  delicacy. 
She  wanted  to  see  if  there  were  no  better  reason  for 
love-making  than  that  of  mere  propinquity.  But  he 
had  followed;  and  she  was  pleased  at  that,  almost  to 
the  point  of  ascribing  to  herself  some  charm  which  she 
herself  had  not  suspected.  He  came  again  and  again, 


IN   LOVE   SUCCESSFUL  27 

daily,  each  night  after  supper,  as  he  had  said,  in  fact. 
She  did  not  deny  that  she  had  made  all  pleasant  for 
him  to  the  best  of  her  ability.  And  now  he  was  going 
to  come  again,  after  the  next  supper ;  only  in  a  differ 
ent  role,  that  of  her  accepted  suitor. 


in 

That  was  almost  all  there  was  about  it.  What  would 
you  expect  of  two  ill-paid  clerks,  twenty-nine  and 
twenty-five  years  of  age?  What  might  they  have  to 
hope  for,  more  than  for  each  other?  Why  should  the 
ambition  of  either  leap  beyond  what  was  there  present, 
in  its  own  comprehensible  world?  Why  should  they 
not  keep  on  meeting  day  after  day,  after  supper? 

Romance  is  by  no  means  a  necessary  thing.  The 
truly  necessary  thing  is  supper.  John  Rawn  knew 
this. 


CHAPTER  V 


IN   ADVERSITY   TRIUMPHANT 


IT  might  witli  some  justice  be  urged  that,  thus  far 
in  his  life,  Mr.  Rawn  has  shown  little  to  distinguish 
him  from  his  fellow-men;  that  indeed  his  career  has 
been  commonplace  almost  to  the  point  of  lack  of  inter 
est  to  others.  There  are  many  of  us  who  have  been 
born  in  this  or  that  small  community,  who  have  lived 
somewhat  humdrum  lives,  have  married  in  a  somewhat 
humdrum  way,  and  who  have,  in  like  unspectacular 
fashion,  failed  to  achieve  any  distinguished  success  in 
affairs.  Yet,  did  we  restrict  ourselves  to  this  point  of 
view,  we  must  fail  of  our  purpose  herein,  just  as  Mr. 
Rawn  himself  would  have  failed  had  he  allowed  him 
self  no  imagination  in  his  view  of  himself.  For  the 
man  who  is  commonplace  and  who  is  aware  of  the 
fact,  the  future  is  apt  to  have  but  little  hope,  nor  is 
his  story  apt  to  hold  any  interest.  In  the  case  of  Mr. 
Rawn  the  reverse  of  this  was  true.  He  did  not  rate 
himself  as  commonplace.  Always  he  pictured  himself 
as  central  figure  in  some  large  scene  presently  to  be 
staged.  His  life  was  much  like  ours,  and  ours  arc  for 
the  most  part  of  small  concern  to  others.  But  John 
Rawn  heard  Voices.  They  spoke  of  himself.  He  saw 

28 


IN    ADVERSITY    TRIUMPHANT          29 

a  Vision.  It  was  of  himself.  The  trouble  with  us 
others  is  that  we  bashfully  still  the  voices  and  timidly 
wipe  the  image  from  our  mirrors.  Let  us  pass  all 
these  matters  with  reference  to  them  as  small  as  was 
Rawn's  own. 

John  Rawn,  then,  married  Laura  Johnson,  and  they 
lived  unhappily  ever  after.  That  is  to  say,  she  did.  As 
for  her  lord,  he  did  not  notice  his  wife  to  any  great 
extent  after  once  they  had  settled  down  together,  but 
came  to  regard  her  as  one  of  those  incidents  of  life 
which  classify  with  food,  clothing,  the  need  of  sleep. 
He  looked  upon  his  wife  much  as  he  did  upon  the 
weather.  Both  happened,  and  both  for  the  most  part 
were  to  be  condemned.  Still,  he  took  no  active  meas 
ures  for  the  abolishment  of  either. 

He  was  a  solemn  man  in  his  home,  or  at  least  for  the 
most  part  a  silent.  Yet  at  times  he  became  almost 
cheerful — when  the  talk  fell  upon  himself;  indeed,  he 
would  explain  to  his  wife,  with  much  care  and  elab 
oration,  himself,  his  character,  his  virtues  and  his  plans. 
In  his  household  life  he  kept  up  the  traditions  in  which 
he  had  been  reared.  He  ate  all  the  beefsteak  there  was 
on  the  table  when  there  was  but  enough  for  one, 
which  latter  often  was  the  case,  for  his  wife  had  need  to 
be  frugal.  At  times  he  would  purchase  a  solitary  ticket 
to  the  theater  and  go  alone.  Yet  he  was  generous,  and 
always  after  his  return  home  he  would  with  fine  feel 
ing  tell  his  wife  what  he  had  seen.  Sometimes  he  spent 
a  Sunday  in  the  country,  but,  as  he  himself  had  been 
first  to  state,  he  was  never  selfish  about  this.  He  al 
ways  would  tell  his  wife  how  green  the  grass  had  been, 
how  sweet  the  songs  of  the  birds,  how  bright  the  sky. 
Most  of  all  he  would  tell  of  the  song  of  one  small  bird 


30  JOHN   RAWN 

which  sang  continually  in  his  ear,  telling  him  of  a  suc 
cess  which  before  long,  in  some  way,  was  to  be  their 
own.  The  passing  years  left  his  wife  a  trifle  thinner, 
a  trifle  more  gray.  He  himself  continued  fresh,  stal 
wart,  strong.  Sometimes,  coming  back  from  the  the 
ater  or  the  country,  after  listening  to  the  voice  of  this 
small  bird  at  his  ear,  he  would  smite  with  a  heavy  fist 
upon  the  family  table  and  say,  "Why,  Laura,  look  at 
me — look  at  me !"  After  which  a  heavy  frown  would 
come  upon  his  face  as  of  one  conscious  of  tardiness  in 
the  fashion  of  fate.  But  he  knew  that  he  was  a 
great  man. 

II 

Now,  what  Laura,  his  wife,  knew  is  not  for  us  to 
say.  She  held  her  peace.  Never  a  word  of  complaint, 
or  taunt,  or  reproach,  or  of  longing  came  to  her  lips. 
Never  did  she  repine  at  the  situation  of  life  which  held 
them  for  more  than  a  dozen  years  after  they  were 
married — one  of  perpetual  monotony,  of  narrow,  iron- 
bound  restraint.  After  some  incredible,  some  miracu 
lous  way  of  womankind,  she  managed  to  make  the 
ends  meet,  indeed  even  to  overlap  a  trifle  at  each 
week-end.  She  smiled  in  the  morning  when  he  went 
away,  smiled  in  the  evening  when  he  returned,  and  if 
meanwhile  she  did  not  smile  again  throughout  all  the 
day,  at  least  she  did  her  part.  A  great  soul,  this  of 
Laura  Rawn ;  but  no  greater  than  that  of  many  another 
woman  who  does  these  things  day  after  day  until  the 
time  comes  for  the  grave,  wherein  she  lies  down  at  last 
with  equanimity  and  calm.  Without  unduly  flattering 
the  vanity,  without  overfeeding  the  egotism  of  her  lord 
and  master,  at  least  Laura  Rawn  was  wise  enough  to 


IN   ADVERSITY   TRIUMPHANT          31 

see  he  could  not  be  much  changed.  Finding  herself 
thus  situated,  she  accepted  her  case  and  spent  her  time 
doing  what  could  be  done,  not  wasting  it  in  seeking  the 
impossible.  He  was  her  husband,  that  was  all.  She 
knew  no  better  way  of  life  than  to  accept  that  fact 
and  make  the  most  of  it.  Which  is  tragedy,  if  you 
please. 

in 

After  the  birth  of  Grace  Rawn,  their  daughter,  which 
occurred  within  the  first  year  of  their  wedded  life, 
Laura  Rawn  had  something  to  interest  her  for  the 
remainder  of  their  days.  Her  horizon  widened  now 
immeasurably;  indeed  to  the  extent  of  giving  her  a 
world  of  her  own  wherein  she  could  dwell  apart  quite 
comfortably;  one  in  which  her  husband  had  no  part. 
Simple  and  just  in  her  way  of  thought,  she  accepted 
the  truth  that  without  married  life,  without  her  hus 
band,  this  new  world  could  not  have  been  her  own. 
Wherefore  she  credited  him,  and  in  her  child,  some 
what  reverenced  him.  She  was  an  old-fashioned  wife. 

As  to  the  child  herself,  she  grew  steadily  and  nor 
mally  into  young  girlhood,  in  time  into  young  woman 
hood,  not  given  to  much  display,  reserved  of  judgment 
as  well  as  of  speech,  ofttimes  sullen  in  mood,  yet  withal 
a  step  or  so  higher  than  her  mother  on  the  ladder  of 
feminine  charm.  She  had  a  clean,  good  family  rear 
ing,  and  a  good  grammar  school  education.  At  about 
the  time  her  father  came  to  be  a  man  of  middle  age, 
Grace  fell  into  her  place  in  the  clerical  machine  of  the 
railway  office  where  he  worked;  for  very  naturally, 
being  an  American  girl  of  small  means,  she  took  up 
shorthand,  and  was  licensed  to  do  violence.  At  home 


32  JOHN    RAWN 

she  joined  her  mother  in  regard  and  attention  for  the 
master  of  the  house. 

IV 

Here,  then,  was  simply  a  good,  middle-class  Ameri 
can  family,  offering  for  some  years  little  to  attract  the 
attention  of  those  who  dwelt  about  them.  The  head 
of  this  family,  as  he  attained  additional  solidity  of  fig 
ure,  grew  even  heavier  of  brow,  trod  with  even  more 
stateliness  about  his  appointed  duties.  It  was  a  privi 
lege  for  the  other  clerks  who  labored  near  him  to  see 
such  calm,  such  dignity.  On  the  street  John  Rawn 
asked  no  pardons  if  he  brushed  against  his  fellow- 
man.  In  his  business  life,  in  his  conduct  upon  the 
street-car,  at  the  restaurant  table,  anywhere,  he  helped 
himself  as  though  of  right,  and  regarded  the  rights 
or  preferences  of  others  not  at  all.  The  community 
cream,  the  individual  butter,  he  accumulated  unto  him 
self  unsmilingly,  as  once  he  had  bananas  in  his  youth. 
Broad  hints,  deprecating  smiles,  annoyed  protests,  all 
were  lost  upon  him.  At  forty-seven  years  of  age  his 
salary  was  but  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  a 
month.  That  showed  only  the  lack  of  wisdom  of 
others,  not  unfitness  in  himself.  Had  this  been  Greece, 
or  Rome,  or  mediaeval  England,  he  would  have  shown 
them  who  was  entitled  to  the  throne!  Indeed,  he 
would  show  them  that  yet.  He  often  told  his  wife  and 
daughter  as  much. 

Did  we  not  know  the  genesis  of  Mr.  Rawn,  and  did 
we  not  know  full  well  the  divine  right  of  kings,  we 
might  call  this  rather  a  curious  frame  of  mind  for  a 
man  who  dwelt  in  a  small  house  with  green  blinds  and 
a  dingy  back  yard,  for  whose  conjoint  charms  he  paid 


IN    ADVERSITY   TRIUMPHANT          33 

but  twenty  dollars  a  month,  on  whose  floors  there  was 
much  efflorescence  of  art  square,  upon  whose  be-lam- 
brequined  mantels  showed  few  works  of  art  beyond 
a  series  of  bisque  shepherdesses  and  china  dogs,  on 
whose  parlor  table  reclined  a  Dying  Gaul,  and  on 
whose  boudoir  walls  hung  an  engraving  of  the  Rock 
of  Ages.  But  John  Rawn  bided  his  time.  He  went 
on  year  after  year,  grave  and  dignified,  perhaps  one 
new  cross  wrinkle  coming  in  his  forehead  with  each 
Christmas,  recorded  by  one  more  annual  shepherdess 
upon  the  family  mantel. 


And  yet  all  this  time  success  was  lying  in  ambush, 
as  it  sometimes  does,  ready  to  spring  forth  at  the  ap 
pointed  hour.  At  about  this  time  there  occurred 
changes  in  the  arrangement  of  the  planets,  the  juxta 
position  of  the  spheres,  which  meant  great  alteration 
in  the  affairs  of  John  Rawn,  of  Kelly  Row,  who  dwelt 
in  a  brick  house  six  miles  out  from  the  railway  office 
where  he  had  worked  for  twenty- four  years,  and  where 
he  had  risen  in  so  brief  a  time  all  the  way  from  forty 
to  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  per  month. 

Let  us  dwell  upon  the  picture  for  a  moment,  deliri 
ously.  Could  it  be  possible  that  this  man  in  time  would 
own  a  large  part  of  this  railway  and  of  others  ?  Was 
it  possible  to  predict  a  day  when  an  army  of  clerks  and 
others,  here  or  there,  would  stand  ready  to  jump  when 
Rawn  cracked  over  them  a  whip  whose  handle  well 
fitted  in  his  hand?  Could  the  time  be  predicted, 
dreamed,  imagined,  when  the  president  of  this  road, 
the  great  Henry  Warfield  Standley,  would  spring  to 


34  JOHN   RAWN 

open  the  door  for  John  Rawn,  twenty-four  years  a 
clerk,  of  whose  existence  he  had  not  long  known? 

Yet  all  these  things  actually  did  occur.  They  could 
occur  only  in  America;  but  this  is  America.  They 
could  occur  only  at  the  summons  of  a  megalomaniac 
selfishness,  an  inordinate  lust  of  power ;  but  here  were 
these,  biding  their  time,  in  the  seriously  assured  mind 
of  an  American  man;  a  man  after  all  born  of  his  age 
and  of  his  country,  and  representative  of  that  coun 
try's  typical  ambition — the  ambition  for  a  material 
success. 

The  lust  of  power — that  was  it!  The  promise  of 
power — that  was  what  the  small  bird  had  sung  in  John 
Rawn's  ear!  The  craving  and  coveting  of  power — 
that  was  what  quivered  in  the  marrow  of  his  bones, 
that  put  ponderousness  in  his  tread,  that  shone  out  of 
his  eyes. 

It  was  this,  it  was  all  of  these,  focused  suddenly  and 
unexpectedly  by  the  lens  of  accident  into  a  burning 
point  of  certainty,  which  marked  the  air  and  attitude 
of  John  Rawn  one  evening  on  his  return  to  his  home 
at  the  conclusion  of  his  day's  work.  He  almost  stum 
bled  as  he  entered  the  door,  heedless  of  the  threshold. 
He  paced  up  and  down  the  narrow  little  hall,  trod  here 
and  there  almost  as  in  a  trance,  muttering  to  himself, 
before  at  last  he  stood  in  front  of  his  wife  and  spread 
out  his  arms — not  for  her,  but  for  the  imaginary  multi 
tude  whom  he  addressed  in  her. 

"Laura,"  said  he,  "Laura,  it's  come!  I've  got  the 
idea.  It's  going  to  win.  We're  going  to  be  rich.  I've 
believed  it  all  along,  and  I  know  it  now !  Laura,  look 
at  me — didn't  I  always  tell  you  so — didn't  I  know  ?" 


IN    ADVERSITY   TRIUMPHANT          35 

He  stood  before  her,  his  shoulders  back,  his  chin 
up,  his  brow  frowning,  his  lips  trembling  in  simple, 
devout  admiration  of  himself.  It  was  not  defiance  that 
marked  his  attitude.  John  Rawn  did  not  defy  the 
lightning.  He  only  wondered  why  the  lightning  had 
so  long  defied  him. 


CHAPTER  VI 


MR.    RAWN   ANNOUNCES    HIS   ARRIVAL 


FOR  some  time  Mrs.  Rawn  said  nothing  in  answer 
to  her  husband's  declaration.  She  had  known 
such  things  before.  Indeed,  with  woman's  instinct  for 
deliberate  self-deception,  she  sometimes  in  spite  of  her 
own  clear-sightedness  had  persuaded  herself  to  feel  a 
sort  of  resentment  at  the  conditions  which  so  long  had 
held  her  husband  back;  had  been  sure,  as  so  many 
wives  are,  that  only  a  conspiracy  of  injustice  had 
thwarted  him  of  success.  If  only  he  could  get  his 
chance!  That  was  the  way  she  phrased  it,  as  most 
wives  do — and  most  husbands. 

But  to-day  there  was  something  so  sincere  in  his  air 
as  to  take  her  beyond  her  own  forced  insincerity  with 
herself.  She  caught  conviction  from  his  tone.  There 
fell  this  time  upon  the  sensitized  plate  of  her  woman's 
nature  some  sort  of  shadow  of  events  to  come  which 
left  there  a  permanent  imprint  as  of  the  truth. 

"What  is  it,  John  ?"  she  demanded.  Her  eye  kindled, 
her  voice  had  in  it  something  not  of  forced  or  perfunc 
tory  interest.  He  caught  these  also,  in  his  exalted 
mood  almost  as  sensitive  as  herself. 

36 


MR.  RAWN  ANNOUNCES  HIS  ARRIVAL     37 

'Then  you  believe  it  at  last !"  he  demanded,  almost 
fiercely.  It  was  the  voice  of  his  father  speaking,  de 
manding  of  a  sinner  whether  or  not  she  had  repented 
of  her  former  fallen  state.  "You  begin  to  think  that 
after  all  I'll  do  something  for  us  both  ?  Oh,  well,  I'm 
glad—" 

"Why,  John,  I  always  thought  so,"  she  chided  mildly. 
"When  did  I  ever—" 

"Oh,  I  don't  know  that  you  ever  said  it  in  so  many 
words,"  he  grumbled,  "but  of  course  I  knew  how  you 
felt  about  it.  I  suppose  a  woman  can't  help  that.  It 
was  my  part  to  succeed  somehow,  some  time,  in  spite 
of  you.  I  always  knew  I  would." 

He  paced  up  and  down,  his  coat  tails  back  of  the 
hands  which  he  thrust  deep  into  his  pockets.  "I'll  tell 
you  again,  since  I  have  never  spoken  of  this — for  fear 
you'd  think  me  just  a  little  conceited  about  myself" — 
he  smiled  in  a  manner  of  deprecation,  never  for  an 
instant  catching  the  comedy  of  this,  more  than  she 
herself  displayed  proof  of  her  own  wish  to  smile — "I'll 
tell  you  anyhow,  though  you  may  think  I've  got  a  bit 
of  vanity  about  myself.  The  truth  is,  I've  always  be 
lieved  in  myself,  Laura !  I've  kept  it  hidden,  of  course 
— never  let  a  soul  know  that  I  thought  myself  the  least 
bit  different  from  anybody  else.  You  didn't  know  it, 
even — and  you're  my  wife.  I've  been  considered  a 
modest  man  all,  my  life.  Yet,  Laura,  here's  the  truth 
about  it — I  wasn't,  really!  I  did  feel  different  from 
other  men.  I  didn't  feel  just  like  an  ordinary  man.  I 
knew  I  was  not — and  there's  the  truth  about  it.  I 
don't  know  exactly  how  to  tell  you,  but  I've  always 
known,  as  sure  as  anything,  that  some  day  I'd  be  a 
rich  man." 


38  JOHN   RAWN 

ii 

She  sat  looking  at  him  seriously,  her  elbows  resting 
on  the  table,  her  gray  eyes  following  him  as  he  walked, 
his  face  serioas,  the  imperious  lock  of  hair  now  fallen 
across  his  forehead. 

"Not  that  I  would  let  money  itself  be  the  only  thing, 
my  dear,  as  you  know/'  he  went  on  nobly.  "I  wouldn't 
do  that.  Any  man  worth  while  has  larger  ambitions 
than  merely  making  money.  After  I've  made  money 
enough  for  us — more  than  you  ever  dreamed  about — 
after  I've  succeeded  and  proved  myself — then  I'm  go 
ing  to  do  something  for  other  men — my  inferiors  in 
life,  you  know — the  laboring  men.  I  suppose,  after 
all,  people  are  pretty  much  alike  in  some  ways.  Some 
men  are  stronger  than  others,  more  fit  to  succeed ;  but 
they  ought  to  remember  that  after  all  they  are  the 
agents  of  Providence,  that  they  are  custodians,  Laura, 
custodians.  No  man,  Laura,  no  matter  what  his  suc 
cess,  ought  to  be  wholly  selfish.  He  oughtn't  to  be — 
well,  conceited  about  himself,  you  know.  He  ought  to 
be  humble" 

She  still  looked  after  him,  wondering  whether,  after 
all,  he  might  not  be  a  trifle  off  his  head ;  but  the  seri 
ousness  of  his  eye  daunted  her. 

"As  for  us,  we'll  move  up  to  Chicago  first,  in  all 
likelihood ;  maybe  later  to  New  York,  for  I  suppose 
business  will  take  us  there  a  great  deal  of  the  time. 
As  to  where  we'll  make  our  home  eventually,  I  hardly 
know.  Sometimes  I  think  we'll  come  back  here  and 
build  a  real  house,  just  to  show  these  people  who  we 
were  all  the  time.  Wherever  we  build,  we'll  furnish, 
too.  I'm  going  to  be  a  spender.  Oh,  I've  longed  for 


MR.  RAWN  ANNOUNCES  HIS  ARRIVAL    39 

it  all  my  life — the  feel  of  money  going  out  between  my 
fingers !  Not  all  for  ourselves,  mind  you.  Maybe  you 
don't  quite  understand  about  that — I  couldn't  expect 
you  to.  But  after  I've  done  something  for  the  common 
people,  I  want  to  build  something — churches,  monu 
ments,  something  that  will  stick  and  stay  after  you  and 
I  are  gone,  and  tell  them  who  John  Rawn  was.  I 
want  them  to  say,  most  of  all,  that  he  was  a  modest 
man,  that  he  was  a  kind  man,  and  not  a  selfish  one — 
not  a  selfish  man,  Laura." 

in 

She  nodded,  looking  at  him  fixedly,  large-natured 
enough  to  be  just  in  the  assembling  of  these  crude  and 
unformulated  ambitions  which  she  knew  tormented 
him.  "Yes,  John,"  she  said  quietly. 

The  next  instant  his  mood  changed. 

"But  one  thing  they'll  have  to  do !"  he  said,  smiting 
a  fist  into  his  palm.  "They'll  have  to  admit  that  I  was 
John  Rawn !  They'll  have  to  realize  that  success  comes 
where  it  belongs.  My  brain,  my  energy,  my  point  of 
view,  my  ability  to  command  men,  my  instinct  for 
leadership — they'll  have  to  recognize  all  that.  I'll 
make  them  see  who  we  were  all  the  time.  Why,  Laura, 
we've  just  been  walking  along  a  flat  floor,  more  than 
twenty  years,  and  now  we're  going  to  take  the  ele 
vator.  We'll  go  up  now,  straight  and  fast. 

"I'm  going  to  make  you  happy  now,"  he  mused. 
"You've  been  a  good  enough  wife.  I  always  said  that 
to  myself — 'She's  been  a  good  wife.'  I'm  going  to 
show  you  that  you  didn't  make  any  mistake  that  night 
when  you  took  me,  only  a  railway  clerk,  with  a  salary 
of  forty  a  month." 


40  JOHN   RAWN 

She  did  not  remind  him  that,  so  far  as  she  knew,  he 
was  still  a  railway  clerk,  with  a  salary  which  in  twenty 
years  had  not  grown  abnormally.  But  now  her  own 
ambitions  began  to  vault ;  first  of  all,  the  ambition  of  a 
mother  for  her  child.  She  accepted  all  these  vague 
statements  as  convincing  truths;  for  where  we  hope 
we  are  easily  convinced. 

"But  how  soon,  John?  You  see,  there  is  Grace,  our 
girl." 

"She'll  wear  diamonds  and  real  clothes." 

"I  wasn't  thinking  of  that.  I  was  thinking  of  her 
education.  Grace  ought  to  go  to  some  good  girls'  col 
lege  in  the  East.  You  see,  you  and  I  didn't  have  so 
very  much  education,  John,"  she  smiled. 

He  frowned  in  answer.  "We  didn't  need  so  much, 
so  far  as  that  goes.  Books  are  not  everything.  There's 
plenty  of  college  men  who  don't  amount  to  anything." 

"I  didn't  so  much  mean  books.  But  you  see,  John, 
we've  lived  rather  carelessly.  We've  not  been  very  con 
ventional,  we  don't  know  very  many  people,  and — 
maybe — we  don't  know  much  how  things  are  done,  you 
see.  Now  suppose  we  were  giving  a  dinner,  and  you 
had  to  take  out  the  guest  of  honor — " 

"Nonsense !  I  reckon  any  guest'd  feel  honored 
enough  to  come  to  my  house.  I'm  not  worrying  about 
that.  Cash  in  the  bank  is  the  main  thing  for  the  guest 
of  honor.  As  for  the  girl,  she'll  have  as  much  educa 
tion  as  we  had,  and  that's  enough." 

"But  I  want  her  to  be  a  lady,  John." 

"Can't  she  be?" 

"I'll  want  her  to  marry  well,  John." 

"Won't  she?    If  she  has  money,  can't  she?" 


MR.  RAWN  ANNOUNCES  HIS  ARRIVAL    41 

"But  I  want  her  to  be  prized  for  herself,  for  what 
she  is." 

"She'll  be  our  daughter,  and  won't  that  be  enough  ?" 

"But  herself!" 

"She's  our  girl.  I  don't  see  where  she'd  find  better 
parents." 

"I  was  just  thinking — about  her  education — that  a 
little  finishing  would  help  her.  We  wouldn't  always 
live  just  as  we  are  living  now,  and  she  ought  to  be  pre 
pared  for  better  things.  We  read  about  things,  but 
what  do  we  know  about  them  ?  Grace  ought  to  know." 

"I  don't  really  join  in  your  anxiety,  Mrs.  Rawn," 
said  he  largely,  "but  that'll  all  come,  if  it's  needful." 

"It's  needful  now.  Grace'll  be  a  young  woman  be 
fore  long.  You  see — "  she  flushed  painfully  as  she 
spoke — "I  don't  want  to  see  her  grow  up  awkward. 
I  don't  want  her  to  feel  as  though  she  hadn't  been  used 
to  things,  you  know — to  be  ashamed  of  herself  and 
her — her  parents.  Not  that  I  care  so  much  for  my 
self—" 

There  were  tears  in  her  eyes — tears  of  reaction,  of 
hope  however  badly  founded.  She  had  toiled  long  and 
patiently. 

"Why,  what's  the  matter,  Laura?"  asked  her  hus 
band. 

"I'm  getting  to  be  almost  old,  John — I'm  almost  an 
old  lady  now !  I've  got  gray  hairs.  I'm  forty-five." 

He  shook  her  by  the  shoulders  playfully.  "Non 
sense  !  We're  almost  of  an  age,  and  I'm  just  beginning 
life.  Grace  is  only  a  child." 

"She's  eighteen  past.  That's  why  I  asked  you  how 
soon — tell  me,  have  they  really  raised  your  salary, 


42  JOHN    RAWN 

John?  If  we  could  only  have  two  thousand  dollars  a 
year  it  would  be  all  in  the  world  I  should  ask." 

"Salary!"  he  guffawed.  "Two  thousand  dollars  a 
year !  Say  that  much  a  month,  a  week,  a  day !" 

"You're  crazy,  John !  What  do  you  mean  ?"  In 
deed,  some  doubt  of  his  sanity  now  began  to  enter 
her  mind. 

"Read  in  the  papers  about  the  daily  incomes  of  those 
big  chaps,  those  really  great  men  back  East,  the  fellows 
who  run  things.  Every  one  of  them  made  it  out  of 
nothing — not  one  of  them  had  any  one  to  give  him  a 
start.  We've  no  right  to  say  that  I  can't  do  as  well 
as  they  have.  The  start's  the  thing." 

"But  what  has  happened,  then  ?  I  never  saw  you  so 
stirred  up  before  in  all  my  life,  John." 

"I  never  have  been." 

"But  what  is  sure — what  can  I  depend  on  for 
Grace?" 

"Death,  taxes,  and  a  woman's  curiosity  are  all  the 
sure  things.  I  don't  know  anything  else  that  is  sure. 
No  man  can  give  all  the  details  of  his  life  in  ad 
vance." 

"In  advance?" 

"Oh,  it  hasn't  all  actually  happened  yet,  of  course. 
I  won't  begin  wheeling  home  a  wheelbarrow  full  of 
gold  every  night  for  quite  a  while.  But  some  day  I 
may!"  His  lips  closed  grimly. 


IV 

"Grace'll  be  a  young  woman  before  long,"  his  wife 
still  mused,  irrelevantly. 

"Let  that  take  care  of  itself.    I'll  deliver  the  goods." 


MR.  RAWN  ANNOUNCES  HIS  ARRIVAL    43 

She  allowed  Herself  a  smile.  "They  are  not  deliv 
ered?" 

He  flushed  at  this.  "You  think  they  never  will  be? 
Very  well,  I'll  fight  it  out  alone.  At  least  I  believe  in 
myself." 

"But  what's  happened?  What  do  you  mean,  after 
all?"  Shei  put  her  hand  upon  his  arm  as  he  passed. 
He  flung  himself  into  a  chair  opposite  her,  his  own  el 
bows  on  the  table  as  he  faced  her. 

"You  can't  understand  it,  Laura ;  but  listen.  There 
are  two  ways  of  getting  rich.  You  can  make  money 
without  brains  in  real  estate,  other  people  building  you 
up  rich.  That's  luck,  not  brains.  A  great  many  of  the 
great  fortunes — take  Astor's,  for  instance,  in  New 
York — have  been  made  in  that  way.  But  that's  a  for 
tune  which  you  O.  K.  after  it's  made,  and  you  don't 
know  anything  about  it  in  advance — it's  too  far  in  the 
future.  You  don't  hear  of  the  ones  that  are  not  made. 
Astor  used  his  best  judgment  and  bought  land  up  the 
island,  where  he  thought  people  would  go,  but  he 
didn't  know  they'd  go  there.  That's  as  much  luck  as 
brains.  We  call  luck  brains  when  it  makes  good. 

"But  there's  another  way  of  getting  rich.  That 
means  real  brains,  and  not  luck.  It  means  deliberately 
figuring  out  what  people  are  going  to  do.  There  is 
only  so  much  room  on  the  surface  of  the  earth.  But 
there's  room  in  the  air  for  millions  and  millions  of  ba 
sic  ideas." 

He  gloomed  across  at  her,  but  she  kindled,  as  ready 
as  ever  to  travel  with  his  thought. 

"Look  at  a  few  of  the  big  ideas  which  have  paid," 
he  said.  "Give  the  people  something  they  haven't  had  ; 
get  them  so  they  have  to  have  it!  Cinch  it  first,  and 


44  JOHN    RAWN 

sell  it  afterward — and  you're  going  to  get  rich. 
Granted  an  idea  which  takes  hold  on  the  daily  life  of 
the  whole  people,  and  there's  no  way  of  measuring  the 
money  you  can  make. 

"For  instance,  you  couldn't  put  the  world  back  to 
the  place  where  it  could  get  along  without  refined  oil, 
without  steam  and  electric  transportation,  and  the  tele 
phone,  and  a  thousand  other  things  which  have  made 
men  rich — inventions  which  seemed  little  at  first,  but 
which  were  universal  after  a  while.  Oil,  water,  iron, 
wood,  steel — we  have  to  have  those  things.  Cinch 
them  and  sell  them.  That's  the  way  to  get  rich,  my 
dear.  Get  an  idea,  get  to  it  first,  and  cinch  it  for  your 
own.  Then  sell  it.  Keep  on  selling  it.  Give  'em  some 
thing  they've  got  to  have,  after  showing  'em  they've 
got  to  have  it.  Teach  'em  what  they  ought  to  have 
known  without  any  teaching.  Some  men  teach  and 
others  pay  them  for  it.  After  that,  all  you've  got  to  do 
is  to  take  it  away  from  them.  When  you've  taken  away 
enough,  make  'em  crawl — make  'em  admit  that  you 
were  greater  than  they  were.  Then  build  your  monu 
ment  and  make  them  keep  on  remembering  you.  After 
that—" 

"And  after  that,  John?"  she  said  gently. 


He  did  not  hear  her.  He  sat  staring,  as  though  in 
the  mirror  of  his  own  mind.  At  last  he  let  his  hand 
drop  across  the  table.  She  dropped  her  own  into  his, 
timidly. 

"Listen,  Laura,"  he  went  on.  "I'll  tell  you  a  little 
of  what  I  mean." 


-  MR.  RAWN  ANNOUNCES  HIS  ARRIVAL    45 

"Yes,  John,  I'm  sure  you  will." 

"What's  the  distinguishing  thing  about  life  to-day, 
my  dear — the  thing  that  makes  it  different  from  that 
of  the  past?" 

"Why,  I  don't  know." 

"A  great  many  don't  know.  They  don't  stop  to 
think!  That's  why  so  many  pass  by  the  open  door  of 
success  and  never  get  inside.  Listen,  Laura.  Wait  a 
minute — don't  interrupt  me.  Speed  is  the  thing  to 
day.  Speed,  speed,  speed ;  and  power !  Don't  you  see 
it  all  around  you,  don't  you  feel  it?  Can't  you  almost 
smell  it,  touch  it,  taste  it?  It's  on  the  street,  in  the 
house,  in  business,  everywhere — we  can't  go  fast 
enough.  But  we're  going  faster.  We'll  go  twice  as 
fast." 

"How  do  you  know?  What  do  you  mean?  Who 
told  you,  John?" 

"That's  my  business.  That's  my  idea.  That's  my 
invention.  That's  how  I'm  going  to  get  rich. 

"Laura,  I'm  going  to  make  it  possible  to  gear  up  our 
national  life,  to  double  its  present  speed,"  he  went  on 
savagely. 

"When  they've  got  it,  they'll  think  they  always  had 
it,  and  after  that  they  all  will  always  have  to  have  it. 
I'll  be  there  first.  I'll  cinch  it,  and  I'll  sell  it.  That's 
my  idea.  That's  not  luck.  It's  brains,  brains,  brains, 
Laura!" 

VI 

She  leaned  back  in  her  chair,  sighing.  "Do  you 
think  I  could  have  a  silk  dress,  John?"  she  said  at 
length,  her  mind  overleaping  vast  intermediate  details. 

"My  God,  woman!" 


46  JOHN   RAWN 

"Could  we  go  to  the  theaters — I've  always  wanted 
to  so  much.  Could  I  go  into  the  country  once  in  a 
while,  where  things  are  green?" 

He  made  a  despairing  gesture  at  her  inability  to 
grasp  the  future. 

"We  could  travel — could  we  go  over  to  Europe — 
could  we  take  Grace  there,  John?" 

"As  often  as  you  liked !" 

"Could  we  have  a  new  gate  in  the  picket  fence,  if 
the  landlord  still  refused  ?" 

"Oh,  my  God!" 

She  sat,  trying  to  rise  to  the  pitch  of  such  ambition, 
but  succeeded  only  in  remaining  commonplace.  "How 
did  you  come  across  it,  John?"  she  asked  after  a  little. 

He  smiled.  "What  did  I  say  about  death  and  taxes 
and  a  woman's  curiosity  ?  The  truth  is,  I  picked  it  up 
from  a  word  or  so  I  heard  in  a  chance  conversation — 
two  young  fellows  from  the  engineering  department 
were  talking  something  over.  That  young  chap  named 
Halsey,  just  out  of  some  college,  full  of  fads,  you 
know.  He'd  been  reading  something  his  old  professor 
had  been  monkeying  over.  I  got  my  idea  then — the 
idea  of  making  any  automobile  go  twice  as  fast  as  it 
does,  any  railway  train,  anything  else — of  cutting  out 
a  lot  of  useless  human  labor,  and  setting  the  power  of 
gravitation  to  work." 

"I  thought  you  said  this  was  your  own  idea?" 

"It  is  my  own.  What  is  thrown  away  deliberately, 
and  picked  up,  is  mine,  if  I  see  the  value  in  it.  Young 
Halsey  didn't  know.  He's  just  a  visionary — nothing 
practical  about  him.  He  couldn't  see  into  this." 

"Halsey — Charley  Halsey  of  the  offices  ?    He's  been 


MR.  RAWN  ANNOUNCES  HIS  ARRIVAL    47 

here — I  think  Grace — you  see,  the  Personal  Injury 
office,  where  she  works,  is  just  across  the  hall  from  the 
Engineering — " 

"Well,  it's  no  difference.  I'm  going  to  take  care  of 
the  affair  myself.  But  it  might  be  just  as  well  if  he 
came,  once  in  a  while.  Grace  might  do  worse." 

"But  you  heard  him  speak  of  it  first?" 

"I've  just  told  you,  yes,  woman!  But  there  was 
nothing  worked  out.  I've  got  to  furnish  the  time  and 
money  and  brains  and  the  plan  of  working  it  out.  I've 
never  said  a  word  to  him  yet,  of  course,  and  I  don't 
want  you  to  say  a  word." 

Her  face  fell.  "I'm  afraid  I  can't  understand  all 
these  things,  John.  But  I  should  think  you'd  take 
Charley  in  as  a  partner.  That  is,  if  Grace —  Maybe 
he  could  help." 

"A  partner  ?  With  me  ?  Laura,  John  Rawn  has  no 
partners." 


VII 


She  rose  after  a  time,  her  eyes  not  seeking  his. 

"Grace  will  be  coming  home  directly,"  she  said 
briskly.  "I  must  get  supper  ready." 

"One  thing" — he  raised  a  restraining  hand — "keep 
quiet  about  this.  I've  told  you  too  much  already." 

For  half  an  instant  Laura  Rawn  almost  wondered 
whether  this  thing  might  not  be  true.  Such  things 
had  happened  in  this  country.  Was  there  not  daily 
proof  before  her  eyes  ?  And  might  not  fortune  reverse 
her  wheel  for  them  also;  might  not  lightning  choose, 
as  sometimes  elsewhere  it  had  chosen,  a  humble  and 


48  JOHN   RAWN 

unimportant  spot  for  its  alighting?  Who  can  read 
the  plans  of  the  immortal  gods?  asked  the  pagans  of 
old.  Who,  asked  Laura  Rawn,  devout  Christian,  can 
foresee  the  plans  of  a  Divine  Providence? 

As  for  John  Rawn,  he  troubled  but  little  over  the 
immortal  gods  or  over  a  Divine  Providence,  feeling 
small  need  of  the  aid  of  either.  He  had  himself. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  DIFFERENCE   BETWEEN    MEN 


THUS  far,  the  Rawn  planet  had  moved  but  in  re 
stricted  orbit,  to  wit:  one  bounded  as  to  one  ex 
tremity  by  the  dingy  yard  and  narrow  walls  of  a  home 
rented  at  twenty  dollars  a  month ;  at  the  other,  by  the 
still  dingier  and  more  prosaic  business  surroundings 
of  a  railway's  general  offices.  Narrow  and  dull  enough 
the  Rawn  life  had  been,  and  in  such  a  life,  lived  on  into 
middle  age,  you  scarce  could  have  blamed  a  man  had 
he  settled  back  for  ever  into  the  grip  of  the  upreaching 
fingers  of  monotony.  The  half  mechanical  and  parrot- 
like  repetition  of  set  phrases  in  a  restricted  line  of  busi 
ness  correspondence  for  Rawn  himself,  day  after  day ; 
the  dull  and  endless  round  of  homekeeping  duties  for 
the  wife — what  but  narrowness  and  dullness  could 
come  out  of  life  such  as  this?  Wherefore  you  should 
not  have  been  surprised  had  you  been  told  that  Grace 
Rawn  was  simply  the  outgrowth  of  this  sort  of  home, 
this  sort  of  life,  not  much  different  from  other  girls  of 
her  class. 

We  are  coming  more  and  more  in  America  to  use 
that  word  "class."  The  theory  is  that  we  came  to  this 
continent  to  escape  class ;  but  surely  class  has  followed 

49 


50  JOHN   RAWN 

us,  and  restricted  us,  and  counted  us  out  into  elect 
and  damned,  into  those  above  and  those  below  the  salt. 
Rather  let  us  say  the  truth,  which  is  that  class  has  fol 
lowed  us  because  we  ourselves  have  followed  after 
class. 

But  continually  the  great  laws  of  survival  go  on 
after  their  own  fashion.  In  the  production  of  human 
beings  there  continually  are  at  work  the  five  laws  of 
evolution,  the  five  factors  of  heredity,  environment  and 
selection,  blended  with  variation  and  isolation.  These 
five  factors  build  human  characters,  continue  ever  to 
do  their  amazing  sums  in  life  and  success  and  survival. 
Sometimes  they  produce  a  Grace  Rawn. 


II 

Perhaps  it  was  the  very  factor  of  isolation  that  gave 
Grace  Rawn  her  quality.  She  was  a  silent  girl,  some 
what  reserved.  Silence  and  reserve  she  got  from  her 
father's  solemn  self-absorption,  her  mother's  quiet  self- 
abnegation.  She  was  softened  in  part  by  the  gentle 
training  of  her  mother,  who  talked  most  when  her  hus 
band  was  not  present. 

Grace  Rawn  stood  two  inches  taller  than  her  mother, 
and  had  a  certain  severe  distinction  which  covered 
many  sins  in  shorthand.  Her  brows  were  dark  and  met 
above  her  eyes ;  and  the  latter,  being  somewhat  myopic, 
usually  were  covered  by  glasses — which  also  not  infre 
quently  shield  yet  other  multitudes  of  sins  in  stenogra 
phy.  Her  chin  was  well  out  and  forward.  Her  jaw 
was  rounded,  her  teeth  white  and  good,  her  carriage 
also  good,  if  still  a  trifle  stiff  and  awkward.  In  air  she 
was  slow  and  deliberate.  Her  eyes  were  gray  like  her 


THE   DIFFERENCE   BETWEEN    MEN       51 

mother's,  her  voice  deep  like  her  father's.  She  was 
what  would  be  called  old  for  her  years,  indeed  a  woman 
at  sixteen.  Most  would  have  placed  her  age  some 
years  further  on  than  the  eighteen  years  which  really 
were  hers  at  this  time. 

Grace  Rawn  could  not  be  said  to  have  any  circle  of 
friends.  Her  soul  was  eclectic.  In  short,  isolation, 
selection  and  variation,  the  three  less  known  laws 
of  growth,  had  done  as  much  for  her  as  the  more 
vaunted  factors  of  heredity  and  environment.  Self- 
contained,  adequate  enough  in  appearance,  although 
lacking  that  sort  of  magnetism  which  draws  men  to 
women,  she  would  have  passed  with  small  notice  in 
the  average  collection  of  her  sex.  For  such  as  these, 
propinquity  comes  as  a  blessing  in  so  far  as  natural 
selection  is  concerned. 

in 

In  St.  Louis,  natural  selection  operated  much  as  in 
the  Silurian  or  the  Elizabethan,  or  eke  the  Jeffersonian 
age,  choice  being  made  from  that  which  offered  at  the 
family  doorstep  in  either  era.  In  Kelly  Row  good  folk 
sat  upon  the  doorstep  of  an  eventide.  The  evening  as 
semblage  upon  the  Rawn  front  doorstep  in  Kelly  Row 
grew  larger  as  Grace  grew  older.  Certain  young  men 
came.  Why  did  they  come?  Why  do  we  walk  about 
and  around  a  tree  that  hangs  full  in  fruit  not  yet 
ripened,  watching  the  bloom  on  this,  the  texture  of 
that,  the  size  or  probable  flavor  of  yonder  example 
hanging  as  yet  unfinished  in  the  alchemy  of  the  sum 
mer  sun?  At  least  the  little  company  at  times  was 
larger  on  the  Rawn  front  stoop  of  an  evening.  It  all 
went  on  in  the  easy,  careless,  hopeful,  unconventional 


'52  JOHN   RAWN 

fashion  of  families  of  the  Rawn  class.  Let  it  be  re 
membered  that  class  really  is  class  in  this  country. 
There  seemed  little  hope  for  Grace,  therefore,  other 
than  in  a  marriage  after  the  stereotyped  fashion  of 
Kelly  Row.  Perhaps  if  good  fortune  attended,  she 
might  marry  a  man  who,  at  middle  age,  might,  like  her 
father,  be  drawing  a  salary  of  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  dollars  a  month;  a  great  man  in  the  eyes  of  the 
world  of  Kelly  Row,  which  lived  on  an  average  of 
half  that  per  month. 

IV 

In  this  evening  company,  as  Laura  Rawn  had  men 
tioned,  occasionally  might  have  been  found  one  Charles 
Halsey,  himself  now  some  twenty-four  years  of  age  at 
next  spring's  lambing-time ;  as  his  father,  a  Missouri 
farmer,  would  have  said.  Halsey  had  come  to  the 
city,  a  serious-minded  youth,  to  seek  his  fortune,  just 
as  John  Rawn  had  done  at  about  the  time  Halsey  him 
self  was  born.  But  whereas  Rawn  had  concerned  him 
self  little  in  books,  Halsey  had,  by  such  means  as  only 
himself  could  have  told,  managed  a  degree  in  engineer 
ing  in  what  New  England  calls  a  freshwater  college, 
the  same  not  so  good  as  salt,  yet,  in  Halsey's  belief 
better  than  none  and  cheaper  than  some.  Once  out  of 
college  and  finding  himself  belated,  he  had  thrust  into 
the  thick  of  the  fray  of  the  business  world  to  the  best 
of  his  ability,  though  to  his  surprise  not  setting  the 
world  into  any  conflagration.  These  four  years  now,  as 
chance  had  had  it,  he  had  been  engaged  in  the  draft 
ing  department  of  the  engineer's  offices  in  the  same  rail 
way  which  employed  John  Rawn.  A  thoughtful  young 
chap  enough,  and  one  held  rather  student  than  good 


THE   DIFFERENCE    BETWEEN    MEN       53 

fellow  by  his  fellow  clerks,  because  for  the  most  part 
he  did  not  join  them  in  their  dissipations,  their  cheap 
joys,  their  narrow  ways  of  thinking.  Also  a  chap  re 
garded  as  not  wholly  desirable  because  he  read  much, 
and  because  he  had  ideas. 

Charles  Halsey,  as  well  as  Grace  Rawn,  in  some  sort 
seemed  to  set  the  laws  of  heredity  and  environment  at 
defiance  in  favor  of  the  lesser  factors  in  evolution.  He 
had  originally  no  right  to  be  anything  but  a  farm  lad, 
yet  he  had  dreams,  and  so  had  fought  his  way  through 
college.  There,  in  the  world  of  books,  close  to  the 
world  of  thought,  not  far  from  the  world  of  art,  he 
had  become  what  some  of  us  might  have  called  an  ideal 
ist,  what  most  of  us  would  have  called  a  fool,  and  now 
what  all  of  us  would  have  called  a  failure. 

A  studious  bent,  a  wide  and  unregulated  way  of 
reading,  a  vague,  inexact  and  untrained  habit  of  men 
tality,  took  young  Halsey,  as  it  does  many  another 
unformed  mind,  into  studies  of  social  problems  for 
which  he  was  but  little  fitted,  to  wit:  into  imaginings 
about  human  democracy,  the  inherent  rights  of  man, 
and  much  other  like  folly.  The  questions  of  socialism, 
the  rights  and  wrongs  of  capital,  the  initiative,  the  ref 
erendum  and  the  recall ;  the  direct  primary,  the  open 
shop,  and  the  living  wage  scale  under  the  American 
standard — all  these  and  many  other  things  occupied 
him  as  much  as  tangents,  curves  and  logarithms.  As 
a  result  of  his  inchoate  research,  he  started  out  in  young 
manhood  well  seized  of  the  belief — finely  expressed  in 
a  certain  immortal  but  wholly  ignored  document  known 
in  our  own  history — that  there  is  a  certain  evenness  in 
human  nature  before  the  eyes  of  the  Lord. 

A  young  engineer  with  small  salary,  and  a  theoreti- 


54  JOHN   RAWN 

cal  cast  of  mind,  even  though  he  reads  text-books  out 
of  hours,  has  only  himself  to  trust  for  his  upward  climb 
in  life.  Surely  he  might  be  better  occupied  in  wonder 
ing  rather  about  his  pull  with  the  boss  than  about  the 
eyes  of  the  Lord  as  bearing  upon  the  future  of  this 
republic.  But,  at  any  rate,  such  was  the  plight  of 
young  Mr.  Halsey.  And,  such  being  the  nature  and 
disposition  of  the  doorstep-frequenting  young,  it 
chanced  that,  although  Grace  Rawn  really  was  not 
yet  fledged  beyond  the  blue-tip  stage  of  her  final  feath 
ering,  and  although  Mr.  Halsey  of  the  Engineering, 
draftsman,  himself  stUl  lacked  the  main  quills  which 
support  a  man  in  his  ultimate  flight  through  life,  they 
came  more  and  more  to  meet  each  other ;  after  which, 
each  in  separate  fashion  came  to  enjoy  the  meeting 
and  to  look  forward  to  the  next. 

It  was  not  unusual  for  Mr.  Halsey,  faring  homeward 
from  the  office,  to  meet  Grace,  also  faring  home,  at 
the  turn  of  the  car  track  on  Olive  Street.  Taking  the 
same  car  they  would  travel,  somewhat  shy  and  silent, 
until  they  reached  the  distant  corner  where  those  bound 
for  Kelly  Row  must  leave  the  car.  Then,  himself 
obliged  by  this  to  walk  perhaps  a  mile  farther,  he 
would  join  her,  still  shy  and  more  or  less  silent;  and 
so  perhaps  again  wander  to  that  certain  door  in  Kelly 
Row  where  by  that  time,  perhaps,  both  Mr.  Rawn  and 
his  helpmeet  were  sitting  on  the  narrow  porch.  He 
was  always  welcome  there,  because  Rawn  knew  him 
for  a  steady  chap ;  and  because,  in  Halsey's  eyes,  John 
Rawn  was  considerable  of  a  personage.  Rawn  was 
aways  ready  to  be  consulted  by  the  young,  and,  like 
most  failures,  was  not  averse  to  giving  abundant  good 
advice  to  others  as  to  the  problems  of  success.  Halsey, 


THE   DIFFERENCE   BETWEEN    MEN       55 

reserved  and  not  expansive  of  nature,  a  poor  boy  in 
college,  always  had  had  a  social  world  as  narrow  as 
this  of  Kelly  Row ;  so  that  after  all  the  parties  of  both 
the  first  and  the  second  part  were  traveling  mostly  in 
their  own  class.  On  the  whole  it  was  rather  a  dour 
assemblage,  that  on  the  porch  in  Kelly  Row.  None 
seemed  to  have  any  definite  plan  or  to  suspect  another 
of  plan.  Life  simply  was  running  on,  in  the  bisque 
shepherdess,  china  dog,  Dying  Gaul  and  Rock  of  Ages 
way. 


Let  us  except  John  Rawn.  He  now  had  certain  wide 
plans  of  his  own,  as  we  shall  see — indeed,  as  we  have 
seen — and  these  had  somewhat  to  do  with,  young  Mr. 
Halsey  himself. 

Mr.  Halsey  himself  was  disposed  at  times  rather  to 
moroseness,  not  yet  having  discovered  the  full  relation 
of  liver  and  soul — a  delicate  and  intimate  association. 
Sometimes  despair  oppressed  him. 

"Once  in  a  while  I  get  an  idea,"  said  he,  one  even 
ing,  "and  I  think  it  might  make  good  if  I  had  a  chance 
to  put  it  over.  But  what's  the  use?  I  couldn't  do 
anything  with  the  best  idea  in  the  world,  because  I  have 
no  time  nor  money  to  work  one  out.  I  tell  you,  you've 
got  to  have  money  or  pull  to  get  anywhere  to-day.  This 
country's  getting  into  a  bad  way.  It  doesn't  look  quite 
right  to  me,  I  tell  you,  the  way  human  beings  are 
ground  under  to-day." 

And  yet  it  was  out  of  precisely  such  talk  as  this  that 
John  Rawn  originally  got  the  reason  for  the  enthusi 
astic  conversation  with  his  wife  which  earlier  has  been 


55  JOHN   RAWN 

chronicled.  Behold  the  difference  among  men !  Here 
was  one  who  wanted  to  set  all  the  world  right,  to  dis 
cover  some  panacea  by  which  all  men  might  rest  in 
happiness  for  ever,  by  which  all  men  might  succeed, 
might  indeed  prove  themselves  free  and  equal,  and 
entitled  to,  say,  ten  minutes  out  of  the  twenty-four 
hours  for  the  pursuit  of  happiness — innocent  happiness, 
such  as  reading  books  on  electricity,  socialism,  the 
steaming  quality  of  coke,  or  the  tortional  strength  of 
I-beams  laid  in  concrete.  Here  also,  one  lift  above 
him  on  the  doorstep  of  Kelly  Row,  was  another  man, 
John  Rawn,  who*  thinking  he  was  full  of  ideas,  had 
none,  but  who  had  every  confidence  in  himself;  a  man 
who  early  in  his  youth  had  proved  his  ability  to  leave 
to  others  the  skin  of  their  bananas  while  he  himself  took 
the  meat,  and  paid  naught  therefor.  Not  much  of  a 
stage,  thus  set  in  Kelly  Row.  But  this  is  the  stage 
as  it  was  set. 

VI 

Among  these,  there  was  one  idea  waiting  to  be  born. 
For,  look  you,  the  air  is  full  of  ideas — even  as  John 
Rawn  in  ignorant  truthfulness  had  said.  They  float 
all  about  us,  unborn  children  in  the  ether  of  the  uni 
verse,  waiting  to  be  born,  selecting  this  or  that  of 
us — you,  me,  gently,  for  a  parent;  the  most  of  them 
to  be  pushed  back  unknown,  unrecognized,  into  the 
frustrate  void,  and  so  left  to  await  a  better  time.  I 
doubt  not  that,  at  this  time  or  that,  each  of  us  has  had 
offered  to  him,  thus  gently,  thus  unknown,  some  idea 
which  would  have  made  any  of  us  great,  set  us  far 
above  our  fellow-man;  ideas  which  for  all  of  that, 


THE   DIFFERENCE   BETWEEN    MEN       57 

perhaps  would  have  revolutionized  the  world.  But 
we  did  not  know  them.  What  great  things  are  left 
unborn,  what  great  discoveries  remain  unmade,  no 
man  may  measure.  We  do  not  lay  hold  upon  that 
thin  and  vaporous  hand  which  touches  our  shoulder. 
We  do  not  wrestle  unwearied  with  the  angel  unto  the 
coming  of  the  dawn.  So  we  go  on,  bruised  and 
broken,  and  at  length  buried  and  forgot,  most  of  us 
never  grasping  these  unseen  things,  not  even  having  a 
hint  of  their  immaterial  presences.  It  is  only  as  the 
jest-loving  fates  have  it  that,  once  in  a  while,  some 
thing  in  revolutionary  thought  drops  to  earth,  is 
caught  by  some  materialistic  mind,  bred  up  by  some 
materialistic  hand. 

It  must  have  been  first  at  some  chance  meeting  here 
on  the  doorstep  in  Kelly  Row  that  young  Halsey  let 
drop  reference  to  an  idea.  It  was  the  whisper  of  some 
passing  wing  in  the  universal  ether,  but  he  did  not 
know  that.  It  is  not  always  the  mind  of  the  idealist 
which  produces.  But  now  this  thin,  faint,  mystic 
sound  had  fallen  upon  the  material  mind  of  John 
Rawn,  covetous,  eager,  receptive  of  any  hint  to  further 
his  own  interest,  concerned  not  in  the  least  with 
science,  not  in  the  least  with  altruism,  troubling  not 
in  the  least  over  the  fate  of  this  republic  or  the  welfare 
of  mankind,  concerned  only  with  his  own  fate,  inter 
ested  only  in  his  own  welfare.  Whereupon  John 
Rawn — barring  that  certain  prophetic  outburst  of 
his  egotism  with  which  he  favored  his  wife  but  re 
cently — in  silence  had  accepted  this  sign  and  taken  it 
as  his  own,  devised  for  his  use  and  behoof,  and  for 
that  of  none  other  than  himself. 


58  JOHN   RAWN 

VII 

This  difference,  then,  lay  between  Rawn  of  the 
Personal  Injury  department  of  the  railway  office,  and 
Halsey  of  the  drafting  offices ;  Rawn  believed  in  him 
self,  Halsey  had  not  yet  figured  out  whether  or  not  he 
believed  in  anything.  They  met  on  the  doorstep  at 
Kelly  Row,  and  out  of  their  meeting  many  things  be 
gan  in  Kelly  Row  which  matured  swiftly  elsewhere, 
and  in  surprising  fashion. 

We  now  come  on,  sufficiently  swiftly,  to  the  history 
of  the  birth  and  organization  of  the  International 
Power  Company,  Limited ;  a  concern  which  grew  out 
of  nothing  except  the  five  factors  of  survival — environ 
ment,  heredity,  variation,  selection  and  isolation.  Its 
cradle  was  in  Kelly  Row. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


POWER 


"/""^HARLES,"  said  John  Rawn  one  evening,  with 

^.s  that  directness  of  habit  which  perhaps  we  have 
earlier  noted,  "I  have  been  thinking  over  some  scien 
tific  problems." 

"Yes?"  replied  Halsey.  "What  is  it— a  patent  car 
coupler  ?  There  isn't  a  fellow  in  our  office  who  hasn't 
patented  one,  but  I  didn't  know  it  was  quite  so  catch 
ing  as  to  get  into  the  Personal  Injury  department — 
they  only  settle  with  the  widows  there." 

"In  my  belief,"  went  on  Rawn,  frowning  at  this 
flippancy,  "I  am  upon  the  eve  of  a  great  success, 
Charles." 

"What  sort  of  success,  Mr.  Rawn?"  inquired  Hal 
sey,  more  soberly. 

Rawn  smiled  largely.  "You  will  hardly  credit  me 
when  I  tell  you,  almost  all  sorts  of  success !  To  make 
it  short,  I  have  formed  a  power  company — a  concern 
for  the  cheap  generation  and  general  transmission  of 
power.  In  the  course  of  a  few  months  we'll  proceed 
in  the  manufacture  of  electrical  transmitters  and  re 
ceivers  for  what  I  call  the  lost  current  of  electricity." 

Halsey  stood  cold  for  a  moment,  and  looked  at  him 
in  amazement. 

59 


60  JOHN    RAWN 

"You  don't  mean  to  say — why,  that's  precisely  what 
I've  been  thinking  of  for  so  long." 

"I  don't  doubt  many  have  been  thinking  of  it,"  re 
joined  Rawn.  "It  had  to  come.  These  things  seem  to 
happen  in  cycles.  It's  almost  a  toss-up  what  man  will 
first  perfect  an  invention  when  once  it  gets  in  the  air, 
so  to  speak.  Now,  this  invention  of  mine  has  been 
due  ever  since  the  developments  in  wireless  transmis 
sion.  In  truth,  I  may  say  that  I  have  only  gone  a 
little  beyond  the  wireless  idea.  What  I  have  done  is 
to  separate  the  two  currents  of  electricity." 

Halsey  leaned  against  the  wall.  "My  God !"  he  half 
whispered.  He  smiled  foolishly. 

"Why,  Mr.  Rawn,"  he  said  finally,  "I've  been  study 
ing  that,  I  don't  know  how  long — ever  since  the  re 
searches  in  my  university  were  made  public.  I  thought 
for  some  time  I  might  be  able  to  figure  it  out  further 
than  our  professors  have  as  yet.  Pfliiger,  of  Bonn, 
in  Germany,  has  been  working  for  years  and  years 
on  that  theory  of  perpetual  motion  in  all  mole 
cules." 

"Mollycules?  I  don't  know  as  I  ever  really  saw 
any,"  hesitated  Rawn. 

"Very  likely,  Mr.  Rawn!" 

"I've  never  cared  much  for  mere  scientific  rot," 
said  Rawn,  coloring  a  trifle.  "That  gets  us  nothing. 
But  what  were  you  saying?" 

Halsey's  enthusiasm  carried  him  beyond  resentment 
and  amusement  alike. 

"Molecules  are  everywhere,  in  everything,  Mr. 
Rawn,"  he  explained  gently ;  "and  now  we  know  they 
move,  though  we  can  see  them  only  in  mass  and  as 
though  motionless." 


POWER  61 

"I  don't  see  how  that  can  be,"  began  Rawn;  but 
checked  himself. 

Halsey  smote  his  hand  against  the  solid  wall.  "It 
moves!"  he  exclaimed.  "It's  alive!  It  vibrates — 
every  solid  is  in  perpetual  motion.  The  dance  of  the 
molecules  is  endless.  It's  in  the  air  around  us,  above 
us — power,  power — immeasurable,  irresistible  power, 
exhaustless,  costless  power!  All  you  have  to  do  is  to 
jar  it  out  of  balance." 

"Yes,  I  know.  That's  what  I've  been  getting  at, 
precisely — " 

"I  was  going  to  figure  it  out  sometime,"  said  Hal 
sey  ruefully. 

"I  did  figure  it  out !"  said  John  Rawn  sententiously. 
"Moreover,  I've  got  the  company  formed." 


II 

"You — Mr.  Rawn?  How  did  you  manage  that? 
I  didn't  know  that  you — "  Halsey  at  last  spoke. 

"A  great  many  haven't  known  about  a  great  many 
things,"  said  Rawn,  walking  up  and  down,  his  hands 
in  his  pockets,  his  air  gloomily  dignified.  "A  few  men 
always  have  to  do  the  things  which  others  don't  know 
about.  For  instance,  what  did  all  the  work  of  your 
professors — what-d'ye-call-'ems — amount  to  ?  Noth 
ing  at  all.  Maybe  they'd  print  a  paper  about  it.  That 
would  about  end  it,  just  as  it  ended  it  for  you.  You 
admit  you  got  the  idea  from  them ;  but  I  say  it  wasn't 
any  idea  at  all.  I  saw  it — in  the  papers.  Didn't  pay 
much  attention  to  it,  because  there's  nothing  in  this 
scientific  business  for  practical  men  like  me." 

"I  know,  I  know,"  Halsey  nodded.     "That's  true. 


62  JOHN    RAWN 

Here  it  all  is."  He  took  from  his  coat  pocket  a 
creased  and  folded  newspaper  page  of  recent  date. 
"Here's  the  story — I  was  proud,  because  it  was  my 
own  university  did  the  work : 

"  'That  the  molecules  composing  all  material  sub 
stances  are  constantly  in  rapid  motion,  ricocheting 
against  one  another  in  the  manner  of  a  collection  of 
billiard-balls  suddenly  stirred  up,  the  speed  of  the  air's 
components  being  about  half  that  of  a  cannon  ball, 
was  the  proof  announced  to-day  from  the  University 
of  Chicago  as  a  further  development  of  the  experi 
ments  by  Professor  R.  A.  Threlkeld,  which  for  the  last 
year  have  been  attracting  the  attention  of  scientists 
from/  all  parts  of  the  world.  The  absolute  nature  of 
the  proof,  upon  which  physicists  all  over  the  world 
have  been  working  without  result  for  several  years, 
was  assented  to  by  Professor  Pfluger,  of  Bonn  Univer 
sity,  Germany,  who  arrived  in  Chicago  last  Monday 
to  witness  the  demonstration.' '' 

He  paused  in  his  literal  reading  from  the  printed 
page.  "I  told  you  about  Pfluger/'  he  began, 

"Yes,  some  Dutchman,"  assented  Rawn  graciously. 
"They're  great  to  dig." 

Halsey,  being  in  the  presence  of  the  man  whom  he 
proposed  making  his  father-in-law,  was  perforce  po 
lite,  although  indignant.  He  went  on  icily,  with  his 
reading,  since  he  had  begun  it : 

"  The  belief  that  the  molecules  of  which  all  matter 
is  composed  are  in  a  perpetual  dance  of  motion  has 
been  held  tentatively  by  scientists  for  several  years, 
but,  owing  to  the  general  inability  to  make  any  pro 
gress  in  proving  it,  considerable  skepticism  has  devel 
oped  among  the  physicists  of  several  of  the  leading 


POWER  63 

scientific  nations.  It  was  generally  known  as  the  kin 
etic  theory.  Professor  Threlkeld's  proof  is  a  further 
development  of  his  experiments,  showing  electricity  to 
be  a  definite  substance,  which  were  announced  last 
year  and  were  pronounced  the  most  important  dis 
covery  concerning  the  nature  of  electricity  since  Ben 
jamin  Franklin. 

"  The  simple  expedient  of  performing  his  experi 
ments  in  almost  a  complete  vacuum — a  method  which 
had  not  occurred  to  scientists  before — was  given  by 
Professor  Threlkeld  as  the  foundation  stone  of  his  dis 
covery.  Minute  drops  of  oil,  sprayed  into  a  vacuum 
chamber,  one  side  of  which  is  of  glass,  demonstrate 
by  their  own  motions  the  truth  of  the  theory. 

"  'Surrounded  by  the  ordinary  amount  of  air,  the 
oil  drops  are  bombarded  by  moving  air  molecules  in 
so  many  thousand  places  at  once  that  their  motion  is 
so  rapid  as  to  be  invisible.  With  few  molecules  of 
air  surrounding  them,  the  drops  are  driven  back  and 
forth  as  though  being  used  as  a  punching-bag. 

"  'By  reference  to  his  previous  experiments  with 
drops  of  oil  bombarded  by  electrical  ions,  the  motion 
of  the  oil  drops  has  been  found  to  be  precisely  the 
same,  showing  the  cause  of  the  motion  to  be  similar  in 
both  cases/  " 

"That's  all  right,"  said  John  Rawn,  "all  very  well 
as  far  as  it  goes,  but  it  doesn't  go  far  enough." 


in 

Halsey  smiled.  "Well,  here's  what  the  discoverer 
says  about  it,"  he  commented.  "I  reckon  that's  plain, 
too,  as  far  as  it  goes: 


64  JOHN   RAWN 

"  Tor  the  benefit  of  the  general  public,  Professor 
Threlkeld  has  prepared  the  following  statement  con 
cerning  the  experiments  he  has  been  conducting: 

" '  "The  method  consisted  in  catching  atmospheric 
ions  upon  minute  oil  drops  floating  in  the  air  and 
measuring  the  electrical  charge  which  the  drops  thus 
acquired.  This  year  the  following  extensions  of  this 
work  have  been  made : 

" '  "The  action  of  ionization  itself  is  now  being 
studied,  each  of  the  twro  electrical  fragments  into 
which  a  neutral  molecule  breaks  up  being  caught  upon 
oil  drops  at  the  instant  of  formation.  This  study  has 
shown  that  the  act  of  ionization  of  a  neutral  air  mole 
cule  always  consists  in  the  detachment  from  it  of  one 
single  elementary  charge  rather  than  of  two  or  three 
such  charges. 

"  '  "By  suspending  these  minute  oil  drops  in  rarefied 
gases  instead  of  in  air  at  atmospheric  pressure,  the 
authors  have  been  able  to  make  the  oil  drops  partake 
of  the  motions  of  agitation  of  the  molecules  to  such 
an  extent  that  they  can  be  seen  by  any  observer  to 
dance  violently  under  the  bombardment  which  they 
receive  from  the  flying  air  molecules. 

" '  "By  measuring  accurately  the  amount  of  the 
motion  of  agitation  of  the  oil  drops  and  comparing  it 
with  the  motions  which  they  assume  under  the  influ 
ence  of  an  electrical  field  because  of  the  charge  which 
they  carry,  the  authors  have  been  able  to  make  an  ex 
act  and  certain  identification,  with  the  aid  of  compu 
tations  made  by  Mr.  Fletcher,  of  the  electrical  charge 
carried  by  an  atmospheric  ion  (and  measured  in  their 
preceding  work),  with  the  electrical  charge  carried 
by  univalent  ions  in  solution. 


POWER  65 

" '  "This  work  not  only  supplies  complete  proof 
of  the  correctness  of  the  atomic  theory  of  electricity, 
but  gives  a  much  more  satisfactory  demonstration 
than  had  before  been  found  of  the  perpetual  dance  of 
the  molecules  of  matter."  '  "* 


IV 

"Fine!  Fine!  Charley!"  interrupted  Rawn  sar 
donically.  "Everybody's  read  that  who  cared  to  read 
it.  It's  too  dry  for  most  folks.  It's  public ;  it's  wide 
open,  no  secret  about  it.  But  who  wants  it  ?  What  use 
has  a  mollycule  and  a  drop  of  oil  in  a  glass  jar  got  in 
actual  business  ?  What  ice  does  it  cut  ?" 

"I  know — I  know,  Mr.  Rawn ;  very  little  indeed. 
But,  one  idea  grows  out  of  another.  Now,  what  I 
was  experimenting  with  was  this  same  second  current 
of  electricity — whatever  it  is.  It's  got  something  to 
do — I  don't  just  know  what — with  this  same  move 
ment  of  the  molecules.  Now,  can't  you  see,  something 
has  got  to  move  them.  If  you've  got  perpetual  motion, 
you've  got  a  perpetual  power  somewhere  back  of  it; 
and  a  power  that  is  endless,  universal — 

"Mr.  Rawn,"  he  resumed  earnestly,  "when  I  got 
that  far  along,  I  got  to — well — sort  of  dreaming!  I 
followed  that  dance  of  the  atoms  on  out — into  the  uni 
verse — into  the  manifestation  of — " 

"Well,  of  what?" 

"Of  God!  Of  Providence!  Of  Something,  what 
ever  it  is  that  begins  and  perpetuates ;  something  that 
plans!  Something  that  created.  Something  that  in- 

*With  but  a  change  of  name,  Mr.  Halsey  quoted  literally 
from  the  journal — The  Author. 


66  JOHN    RAWN 

tends  life  and  comfort  and  joy  for  the  things  It  cre 
ated." 


Rawn  eyed  him  coldly.  "Charley,"  said  he,  "you're 
talking  tommyrot !  You  can't  run  this  world  into  the 
spiritual  world.  That's  wrong.  It's  irreligious.  Be 
sides,  it's  rot." 

Halsey  hardly  heard  him.  "So  then  I  began  to 
wonder  what  we'd  find  yet,  when  we  had  that  vast, 
universal  power  all  for  our  own — all  for  man,  you 
know,  Mr.  Rawn.  Living's  hard  to-day,  Mr.  Rawn. 
There's  a  lot  of  injustice  in  the  world  nowadays.  So 
— well,  I  wondered  if  it  weren't  nearly  time  that  things 
should  change.  We've  always  moved  on  up — or 
thought  we  did,  anyhow — so  why  shouldn't  we  keep 
on  moving,  keep  on  making  discoveries  ?" 

"That's  what  /  thought,  Charley !" 

—"Something  that  would  lighten  the  world's  labor, 
and  give  the  world  more  time  to  think,  more  time  to 
grow — to  enjoy — well,  to  love,  you  know — " 

"Charley,  you're  nothing  better  than  a  damned 
Socialist!  You're  siding  with  the  lower  classes. 
Labor! — There's  always  got  to  be  labor,  long  as  the 
world  lasts — always  has  been  and  always  will  be.  And 
some  do  that  sort  of  work,  while  others  don't.  There 
are  differences  among  men.  Look  at  those  profes 
sors — look  at  you !  A  mollycule  in  a  glass  jar — what'd 
it  get  you?  Did  any  of  you  form  a  company  for  the 
perpetual  sale  of  something  that's  everlasting  and  that 
don't  cost  anything?  You  didn't.  But  /  did." 

"Yes.  And  it  was  my  dream — but  not  as  you  state 
it,  Mr.  Rawn.  I  didn't  want  to  sell  it.  I  wanted  to 


POWER  67 

•give  it.    I  wanted  to  do  something;  for  the  people,  for 
humanity — for  the  country — you  see.    That  is — " 

"Humanity  be  damned !"  broke  in  John  Rawn  bru 
tally.  "You  can't  do  anything  for  humanity — you 
can't  make  the  weak  men  strong — it's  God  A'mighty 
does  that,  Charley.  Give  it  away,  eh?  Well,  let  me 
have  the  second  current  that  costs  nothing,  and  let 
me  sell  it  for  ever  at  my  own  price — and  I  reckon  I'll 
let  you  and  your  professor  and  Mr.  Dutchman,  what 
ever  his  name  is,  trail  along  any  way  you  like  with 
your  mollycule  in  the  glass  jar.  I  want  canned  power 
— -definite,  marketable,  something  you  can  wrap  up  in 
a  package  and  sell,  do  you  understand — sell  to  those 
same  laboring  men  that  you're  wasting  your  sym 
pathy  on.  Work  for  yourself,  my  son,  remember  that ; 
never  mind  about  humanity.  And  I'll  give  you  a 
chance,  Charley — in  my  company,"  he  added. 


VI 

"Is  it  a  big  company  ?"  queried  Halsey  wearily. 

"Twenty-five  million  dollars,"  answered  John  Rawn 
calmly.  And  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  at  this  time 
John  Rawn  was  drawing  a  salary  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  dollars  a  month,  the  highest  pay  he  had 
ever  received  in  all  his  life;  also  that  he  was  at  this 
time  a  man  forty-seven  years  of  age.  We  have 
classes  in  America,  but  occasionally  the  lines  that  sep 
arate  one  from  the  other  prove  susceptible  of  success 
ful  attack  at  the  hands  of  a  determined  man.  As 
Rawn  stood  before  Halsey,  who  only  goggled  and 
gasped  at  such  statements  as  his  last,  he  seemed  a 
determined  man. 


68  JOHN   RAWN 

"We  are  going  to  dam  the  Mississippi  River,  a 
couple  of  hundred  miles  above  here  at  the  ledges," 
Rawn  remarked  casually.  "For  the  time,  that  will  be 
our  central  power  plant.  We  will  contract  for  a  mil 
lion  and  a  half  dollars'  worth  of  power  each  year  in 
St.  Louis  alone.  That  comes  down  by  regular  wire 
transmission.  That  is  nothing,  it's  only  a  drop  in  the 
bucket.  Our  big  killing  is  going  to  be  with  the  other 
scheme — the  second  current — the  same  idea  you've 
been  trifling  with.  We'll  go  East  with  that." 

"You  seem  to  mean  almost  what  I  mean,  when  I 
talked  with  you  long  ago — " 

"Do  you  think  so?"  Rawn's  tone  was  affable  and 
he  held  out  his  hand.  "I  should  be  happy  indeed  to 
think  that  we  had  been  studying  along  the  same  lines, 
Charles.  That  will  enable  you  all  the  better  to  under 
stand  my  own  ideas  and  my  business  plans.  Of  course 
— and  I'll  be  frank  with  you,  Charles — Mrs.  Rawn  and 
I  have  doubted  the  wisdom  of  Grace's  engagement  to  a 
young  man  without  means  or  prospects.  But  I  can 
give  you  prospects,  and  you  can  make  your  own  means. 
I'll  put]  you  in  our  central  factory.  We  need  good 
men,  of  course,  and  I  need  you  especially,  Charles. 
In  fact,  I've  had  you  in  my  eye." 

"How  do  you  mean?" 

"Well,  I  shall  be  president  of  the  concern." 

Halsey  smiled  sardonically.  "The  difference  be 
tween  men!" 

"Pardon  me,  but  you  seem  to  think  that  you  ought 
to  stand  in  my  shoes  in  this  matter,  Charles.  I  don't 
recall  any  warrant  for  that."  Rawn  spoke  with  asper 
ity,  aggrieved.  "Of  course,  we  speak  loosely  of  cer 
tain  things,  all  of  us,  and  all  of  us  have  unformed 


POWER  69 

wishes,  all  that  sort  of  thing-.  I'm  willing  to  admit, 
too,  as  I  said  before,  that  when  the  time  comes  for  a 
great  idea  to  be  discovered,  it  may  be  almost  by  acci 
dent  that  it  is  discovered  by  this  man  or  that. 

"But  now,  as  I  take  it,  Charles,"  he  continued,  "you 
never  had  any  definite  and  exact  idea  of  handling  the 
unattuned  current  of  electricity  which  runs  free  in 
the  air,  and  which — according  to  my  theory — can  be 
taken  down  by  the  proper  receivers  and  used  locally 
— harnessed,  set  to  work ;  and  retailed  at  a  price. 
That's  the  wireless  idea,  of  course,  in  one  form.  It's 
the  one  big  thing  left  for  big  business  to  discover. 
There's  nothing  left  in  timber,  mines,  irrigation,  rail 
roads  ;  cream's  all  off  the  country  now.  But  now  here 
comes  this  idea  of  mine,  and  it's  bigger  than  any  of 
those  old  ones.  Money?"  He  threw  out  his  hands. 
"Were  you  working  on  this  yourself,  my  son?"  he 
concluded.  "How  singular!  But  it's  in  the  air." 

"Not  very  much,"  said  Halsey  honestly.  "I  didn't 
have  time  to  work  steadily  at  it.  We're  pretty  busy 
in  the  office.  I  did  make  a  little  model,  though.  I 
spent  quite  a  lot  of  time  on  it,  as  I  could." 

"We  are  busy  in  our  office,  too,"  said  Rawn  grimly. 
"But  /  found  time.  We'll  look  over  your  model  to 
gether,  some  day." 


CHAPTER  IX 

CHANGE  IN   KELLY  ROW 


UNLESS  the  Day  of  Judgment  shall,  in  its  extraor 
dinary  phenomena,  accomplish  that  result,  it  is 
scarcely  to  be  held  probable  that  any  cataclysm  inaug 
urated  by  God  or  man  ever  will  essentially  disturb  the 
placid  business  of  simply  being  alive.  Vesuvius 
erupts ;  a  few  human  ants  are  scorched.  A  ^ity 
burns,  and  a  few  ant-hills  perish.  An  earthquake 
rocks  half  a  continent;  the  other  half  stands  firm. 
Nothing  much  matters,  and  nothing  happens.  That 
men  fly  in  the  air,  that  men  talk  across  seas  by  ma 
chines — as  right  presently  they  will  talk  mind  to 
mind,  free  of  all  mechanical  hindrance — attracts  no 
attention  beyond  passing  chronicle  in  the  argot  of  the 
day.  The  large  things  of  the  age,  of  course,  are  the 
ball  games  and  the  encounters  of  the  prize  ring.  Why 
should  we  think?  Why  should  we  feel  apprehension, 
whereas  we  know  full  well  that,  come  what  may — 
unless  that  shall  be,  to  wit:  the  ball  game,  the  prize 
fight,  or  the  Day  of  Judgment — nothing  really  can 
much  matter,  and  nothing  much  can  happen? 

Nothing  much  happened  in  Kelly  Row.     The  old 
monotony  of  business  and  domestic  routine  went  on 

70 


CHANGE   IN    KELLY   ROW  71 

with  no  alteration.  Grace  went  with  her  father  daily 
to  the  common  and  accustomed  scene  of  their  labors ; 
Mrs.  Rawn  baked  bread,  roasted  meat  when  meat 
could  be  afforded — for  this  was  in  the  America  of 
to-day — swept  the  hall  carpet  and  dusted  off  the  Dying 
Gaul;  while  as  to  Charles  Halsey,  he  still  read  late  at 
night  and  made  none  too  good  use  of  India  ink,  try- 
square  and  straight-edge  by  day.  No  great  disturbance 
was  to  be  noted  anywhere.  All  that  was  proposed  was 
that  the  people  should  be — with  a  very  commendable 
benevolence — offered  the  opportunity  of  purchasing 
for  ever,  to  the  behoof  of  a  very  few,  something  that 
had  been  given  them  free  and  for  ever  by  the  will  of 
God.  A  simple  thing,  this,  and  of  no  consequence.  It 
ranked  not  even  with  an  earthquake ;  certainly  not  with 
a  ball  game. 

II 

Yet,  with  sufficient  steadiness,  the  plans  for  all  this 
went  forward,  and  that  with  a  commendable  celerity 
also;  for  John  Rawn  now  proved  himself  no  idler 
in  a  matter  where  his  own  welfare  was  concerned.  He 
and  Halsey  very  often,  in  their  daily  meetings,  dis 
cussed  their  future  plans;  Halsey  none  too  happily. 
Rawn  consoled  him. 

"Never  mind  about  it,  Charles.  You  shall  be  my 
right-hand  man.  You'll  be  able  to  understand  my 
plans  more  perfectly  than  anybody  else.  And  listen, 
Charles — "  he  laid  a  hand  on  the  young  man's  shoul 
der,  "I'm  not  going  to  stand  in  the  way  of  your  own 
plans.  You  and  Grace  shall  marry  as  soon  as  you 
like,  after  we  get  this  thing  going.  It  won't  be  long. 
I  shall  have  abundant  means." 


72  JOHN   RA.WN 

"How  ever  did  you  do  it?"  demanded  the  young 
man,  even  as  his  face  lightened  at  what  seemed  to  him 
the  most  desirable  news  in  the  world.  He  had  just 
gained  Grace's  consent  and  her  mother's,  but  dreaded 
to  ask  that  of  her  sterner  parent.  "How  in  the  world 
did  you  manage  it,  Mr.  Rawn?  You  hadn't  any 
money,  and  you  hadn't  any  influence." 

"I  did  it  by  force  of  conviction,"  answered  John 
Rawn  severely,  setting  his  knuckles  on  the  table  and 
leaning  forward  as  he  faced  him.  "I  did  it  by  my 
own  original  thoughts.  I  impressed  these  other  men 
with  the  importance  of  my  invention." 


in 

He  strode  up  and  down  now,  as  he  went  on :  "I'll 
tell  you,  Charles,  so  that  you  can  understand  these 
things.  I  suppose  you  do  a  certain  amount  of  reading 
on  current  events.  You  must  know,  as  we  all  do> 
what  a  keen  search  there  has  been  made  by  capitalists 
all  over  the  country  for  water  power  sites?  There 
are  few  who  know  to  what  extent  the  greater  power 
sites  have  been  monopolized  already — that's  kept 
quiet,  and  the  people  don't  care.  Oh,  I  admire  them, 
those  leaders — those  men  who  see  into  the  future — 
those  men  who  are  our  kings  in  industry.  It's  there 
I've  wanted  to  stand  all  my  life — among  them,  in 
their  company,  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  them,  even-up 
with  them — or  better. 

"Of  course,  you  know  the  newspapers  and  the  mag 
azines — all  of  them  managed  by  a  lot  of  reformers 
who  have  no  weight  in  the  world  of  affairs — have  done 
all  they  could  to  thwart  the  plans  of  these  brainier 


CHANGE    IN    KELLY   ROW  73 

men.  But  they  can't  stop  what's  going  to  happen.  A 
few  men  are  going  to  control  the  resources  of  this 
country.  A  few  men  are  going  to  administer  the  busi 
ness  affairs  of  this  country.  It  can't  be  stopped.  Even 
the  Supreme  Court  realizes  that  now.  Congress  learned 
it  long  ago — the  Senate  proves  it  every  day  of  the 
week.  My  son,  this  invention  of  mine  is  going  to  make 
that  likelihood  a  certainty,  a  certainty!  I  want  my 
place  among  those  men,  those  few  leaders  who  are  to 
control  this  country.  And  I'm  going  to  have  it !" 

Young  Halsey,  dull  white,  simply  sat  staring  at  him 
as  he  went  on. 

"We  all  know  what  the  old  ideas  of  fuel  and  power 
are — they're  obsolete.  Electricity  is  the  power  of  the 
future,  the  power  of  to-day.  Speed,  speed,  speed  is 
what  we  want.  Power,  power,  power  is  what  every 
industry  needs,  as  well  as  what  every  man  craves. 

"Now,  heretofore,  the  only  question  has  been  to  get 
electricity  over  the  country,  to  distribute  it  cheaply. 
The  water  powers  manufacture  it  well  enough,  but 
even  water  powers  cost  money;  and  there  has  always 
been  a  limit  to  the  range  of  transmission.  Now, 
when  I  set  aside  all  these  old,  costly,  inefficient  meth 
ods,  and  hand,  ready-made,  to  the  great  capitalists  of 
this  country  the  very  answer  to  the  last  question  they 
have  been  asking,  what  is  going  to  be  the  natural  re 
sult?  When  I  tell  them  that  I  can  wipe  out  all  this 
enormous  industrial  waste  that  has  been  going  on  in 
power,  what  are  they  going  to  say  to  me?  Are  they 
going  to  kick  me  out  of  their  offices? 

"They  didn't  kick  me  out.  When  I  went  to  them — 
a  few  of  them,  men  who  run  our  road — and  told  them 
that  I  could  separate  electricity  into  two  parts,  two 


74  JOHN    RAWN 

sorts,  common  and  preferred,  old  and  new,  costly  and 
cheap,  localized  and  wholly  mobile — what  were  they 
going  to  say  to  me?  They  didn't  kick  me  out  of  the 
office !  They  got  up  and  locked  the  office  door.  That's 
what  they  did.  They  were  afraid  I'd  get  away  from 
them! 

"They  had  thought  of  these  things  before — about 
as  much  as  you  have,  I  reckon.  That  is,  they  had 
hoped  something  would  be  discovered  some  time,  by 
somebody.  But  I  told  them  that  I  could  send  one-half 
of  this  divided  power  up  into  the  air,  now !  I  said  I 
could  store  it  in  the  air  without  cost  to  any  one,  and 
then  take  it  down,  at  any  manufacturing  plant,  any 
where,  any  lighting  plant,  any  enterprise  using  power, 
whenever  and  wherever  I  pleased,  at  a  cost  not  worth 
mentioning — and  now !  It  was  then  they  locked  the 
office  door,  for  fear  I'd  get  away." 


IV 


"It's  wonderful,"  said  Halsey,  warmly  as  he  could. 

"I  told  them  that,  as  certainly  as  anything  is  cer 
tain,  I  could  take  that  stored  charge  out  of  the  air, 
and  set  it  at  work  in  Chicago,  or  Cleveland,  or  Pitts 
burgh,  or  Minneapolis,  or  where  I  liked.  I  said  I 
could  put  in  the  scrap  heap  every  factory  run  under 
the  old  and  obsolete  power  methods.  Then  they  began 
to  sit  up.  I  had  'em  pale  before  I  got  through !  I 
tell  you,  Charles,  I  saw  the  president  of  this  railroad 
we  have  been  working  for  look  pale  and  sick  when  I, 
I,  John  Rawn,  one  of  his  underpaid  clerks — a  man 
who  had  had  enough  trouble  to  get  to  see  him — who 


CHANGE    IN    KELLY   ROW  75 

had  to  make  some  excuse  to  get  to  see  him — stood  up 
right  to  his  face  and  proved  these  things." 

Halsey,  duller  white,  listened  on  as  Rawn  talked  on. 

"Of  course,  they  didn't  believe  it — he  called  in  his 
crony,  the  general  traffic  manager — that  beast  Acker- 
man — you  see,  they  have  some  side  lines  of  investment 
together,  on  their  personal  account — and  it  makes  'em 
a  lot  more  than  their  salaries.  But  they  were  afraid 
not  to  believe  what  I  said.  They  tried  to  talk  and 
couldn't.  About  all  they  could  say  to  me  at  the  end 
of  an  hour  or  so  was  'How  much?' 

"Then  I  told  them  how  much,"  concluded  John 
Rawn. 

"How  much  was  it,  then?"  Halsey  tried  to  smile, 
palely. 

"That  is  not  for  me  to  say.  Business  men  handling 
large  matters  are  pledged  to  mutual  secrecy.  The 
president  of  this  railroad  left  for  New  York  yesterday. 
I'm  taking  chances  in  telling  you  this  much,  and  prom 
ising  you  as  much  as  I  have.  I  would  not  do  it  if  I 
did  not  regard  you  as  one  of  my  own  family.  You 
must  keep  close  in  this,  or  else — "  A  savage  look 
came  into  Rawn's  face,  which  he  himself  would 
scarcely  have  recognized,  a  new  trait  in  his  nature,  kept 
back  all  these  years ;  the  savagery  of  the  stronger  hav 
ing  a  weaker  being  in  its  power. 

"Breathe  a  word  of  this,  even  to  Grace,"  he  said, 
"and  it'll  cost  you  Grace,  and  it'll  cost  you  more  than 
that." 


Halsey  made  no  answer  but  to  sit  looking  at  him, 
his  eyes  slightly  distended.     He  loved  this  girl.     If 


;6  JOHN   RAWN 

he  must  pay  for  that  love,  very  well.  Love  was  worth 
all  a  man  could  have,  all  a  man  could  do.  He  loved  a 
girl,  and  he  was  young.  Any  price  for  her  seemed 
small. 

Rawn  allowed  his  last  remark  to  sink  in  before  he 
resumed : 

"It  was  some  time  ago  that  I  went  to  these  men. 
They  sent  for  me  often  enough  after  that — " 

"And  could  you  prove  it  out  ? — " 

"Wait  a  minute — don't  interrupt  me  when  I'm 
speaking."  Rawn  raised  an  imperious  hand.  "They 
sent  for  me,  yes ;  until  at  length  the  president  told  me 
they  hadn't  known  they  had  had  this  big  and  brainy 
a  man  right  at  their  elbows  all  the  time. 

"Then,"  he  went  on  blandly,  unctuously,  "they 
showed  me  how  large-minded  and  generous  great  busi 
ness  men  can  be  when  you  come  to  know  them.  The 
people  don't  know  these  great  business  men — why, 
they're  just  as  simple,  and  human,  and  kind !  They 
said  they  wanted  to  identify  me  with  their  own  for 
tunes.  For  instance,  they  put  me  in  for  five  thousand 
shares  of  stock  in  a  rubber  company  they  are  floating, 
and  some  automobile  stock.  The  automobile  industry 
is  sure  to  grow.  That  rubber  stock  alone  would  make 
me  rich,  I  have  no  doubt." 

"But  what  have  you  done? — " 

"Wait  a  minute !  These  men,  it  seems,  are  in  with 
a  lot  of  other  railroad  men  who  are  developing  an  oil 
field  in  lower  California.  They  have  been  waiting  till 
things  got  ripe.  They've  got  two  or  three  gushers 
capped  out  there  that  they're  holding  back  until  they 
get  ready.  They'll  make  millions  out  of  that  alone. 
These  men  play  in  with  Standard  Oil,  and  you  know, 


CHANGE    IN    KELLY   ROW  77 

how  strong  their  hold  is  since  the  Supreme  Court 
threw  down  the  cards.  A  salary!  /  a  salary — what 
did  I  make?  They  have  their  salaries,  but  what  do 
such  sums  count  with  men  of  real  genius  in  affairs  ? 

"Well,  they  put  me  in  for  some  of  those  oil  shares, 
too.  That  alone  would  make  me  rich.  I  could  stop 
right  here,  taking  no  chance,  and  be  rich,  now,  to-day. 
It  pays  to  trail  in  with  the  right  bunch.  What  can  the 
muckrakers  do  toward  stopping  men  like  that? 

"I'm  telling  you  things  which  of  course  I  ought 
not  to,  but  I  know  I  can  trust  you,  Charles.  And,  as 
I  told  you,  I'm  going  to  keep  you  about  me  in  the 
business.  I  believe  in  you,  my  son.  We'll  have  plenty 
of  work  to  do  together." 

"Have  you  laid  before  them  a  complete  plan,  then, 
Mr.  Rawn — how  did  you  figure  it  all  out  so  soon? 
I've  worked  on  this  a  bit,  and  I  never  got  much  beyond 
a  model  that  didn't  quite  turn  the  trick." 

"I  would  hardly  be  foolish,"  smiled  John  Rawn. 
"They  do  not  have  my  secrets.  Let  them  complete 
their  own  plans.  Let  them  raise  their  money.  Let 
them  form  their  company.  Let  them  give  me  legally 
my  fifty-one  shares  of  International  Power  for  control 
— then,  I'll  tell  them,  not  before.  It's  a  question 
whether  they're  big  enough  to  stack  up  in  my  class, 
that's  all." 

"Why,  you're  like  the  Keeley  motor  man !"  grinned 
young  Halsey.  "It  lasted — for  a  while.  But  can  you 
keep  on  putting  this  over  with  these  people?" 

"The  president  of  this  railroad  started  for  New 
York  yesterday,  I  told  you!  We've  not  been  idle. 
Two  months  ago  we  told  our  Senators  in  Congress 
what  we  wanted  in  the  way  of  laws  in  the  matter  of  our 


78  JOHN   RAWN 

great  central  power  dam.  Work  is  going  on  in  the 
state  legislatures,  both  sides  of  the  river.  Money? 
There's  no  trouble  raising  money  in  America  when  you 
have  a,  valid  idea — no,  not  if  it's  only  one-tenth  as 
good  as  this.  And  this  is  the  best  and  biggest  mon 
opoly  this  country  ever  saw.  They'll  pay  for  an  idea 
like  this!" 

VI 

"It's  an  idea  that'll  rivet  chains  on  this  country!" 
broke  out  Halsey  suddenly,  starting  up.  "It's  an  idea 
that'll  make  still  worse  slaves  of  this  American 
people !" 

"Yet  just  a  while  ago,"  said  Rawn,  with  a  fine  air 
of  Christian  fortitude,  "you  said  that  you  were  trying 
to  get  hold  of  this  very  same  idea." 

"Yes,  yes,  I  was !  I  am !  I  did !  But  I  wanted  to 
take  a  burden  off  from  the  shoulders  of  the  world,  not 
to  put  a  greater  there.  I  wanted  to  lessen  the  dread 
and  despair  that  our  people  feel  to-day.  I  wanted  to 
work  it  out,  I  say,  so  that  every  man  could  have  the 
benefit — and  free!" 

"Every  man  is  going  to  have  it,"  remarked  John 
Rawn  grimly,  "but  not  free.  What  did  I  tell  you  a 
•while  ago?  Get  an  idea,  cinch  it — and  then  sell  it! 
The  people  can  have  this  benefit,  yes;  but  they'll  pay 
for  it.  That's  the  way  success  is  made." 

"Ah,  is  it  so  ?"  was  Halsey's  answer.  He  flung  him 
self  against  the  table,  his  pale  face  thrust  forward  over 
his  outspread  arms.  "Success!  You  mean  only  that 
the  corporation  grip  on  this  country  will  be  stiffened 
more  than  any  one  ever  dreamed.  That's  what  your 
idea  means,  then?  That's  your  success?" 


CHANGE    IN    KELLY   ROW  79 

Rawn  nodded.  "Of  course.  That  has  to  be.  Busi 
ness  conditions  have  changed.  I  told  you,  a  few  men 
are  to  control  the  destiny  of  this  country.  Individual 
competition — it's  foolish  now.  There  are  differences 
among  men.  We  have  to  take  the  world  as  we  find  it, 
and  improve  it  if  we  can.  When  a  fortunate  man  hits 
upon  some  great  improvement  in  the  living  conditions 
of  humanity,  he  gets  rich.  That's  the  way  of  life. 
Why  fight  it?  Why  not  get  on  the  right  side,  instead 
of  the  wrong  side  of  the  world?  Why  not  trail  in 
with  the  main  bunch,  if  that's  where  the  money  is  ?" 

"Go  on,  then,  go  on!"  said  Halsey  after  a  long 
while,  the  expression  on  his  face  now  changing.  "I'm 
going  to  trail  in,  as  you  say.  When  does  the  riveting 
begin  ?" 

"The  public  will  be  taken  in  when  the  larger  inter 
ests  have  completed  all  their  plans,"  answered  John 
Rawn.  "The  stock  of  International  n  ay  not  go  on 
the  market  for  some  time ;  indeed,  I  doubt  if  much  of 
it  ever  gets  out  beyond  our  fellows, — it's  too  good  a 
thing  to  share  with  the  public.  I  know  what'll  happen 
with  my  fifty-one  per  cent. — it'll  stay  in  my  safety-box 
until  John  Rawn  is  in  need  of  bread. 

"We  start  with  fifteen  million  bonds,"  he  continued, 
"thirty  millions  preferred  stock,  with  a  forty  per  cent., 
common,  as  a  bonus.  It  looks  as  though  the  thing 
would  be  all  inside.  The  management — " 

"But  you? — You'll  think  me  personal — " 

"Not  at  all.    I'll  hold  the  control." 

"Of  what?" 

"Of  all  of  it"  said  John  Rawn,  gently  smiling,  as 
he  leaned  his  knuckles  on  the  dingy  table  in  the  dining- 
room  in  Kelly  Row. 


So  JOHN   RAWN 

Halsey  smiled  at  him,  tapping  his  finger  on  the  side 
of  his  head.  "I  see,"  said  he. 

"No,  I'm  not  crazy.    What  do  you  think  you  see?" 

"Things  don't  happen  in  that  way,  Mr.  Rawn.  In 
ventors  don't  get  off  in  the  money  like  that.  Don't 
tell  me  that." 

"Right  you  are,"  said  Rawn,  dropping  a  clenched 
fist  on  the  table  top.  "Inventors  don't!  But  men  of 
that  same  class — men  of  grip  and  grasp — they  do  get 
off  where  the  money  is!  I'll  show  you.  They  won't 
rob  John  Rawn !" 

VII 

"Did  they  take  it  easy  ?"  queried  Halsey  finally. 

"Threatened  to  kill  me,  that  was  all !  As  I  said, 
they  locked  the  door.  It  was  the  traffic  manager, 
Ackerman,  who  took  it  roughest.  We  both  looked 
along  his  pistol  barrel.  'All  right,'  I  said.  'Shoot. 
Kill  me,  and  what  is  there  left?  You  can't  take  me  in 
with  you — it's  only  a  question  whether  I'll  take  you 
in  with  nie! 

"  'Now,  you  listen/  I  said  to  Standley  and  Acker 
man — and  I  wasn't  afraid  of  them — Til  show  you  how 
to  make  something  that  everybody  has  to  have.  I'll 
put  speed  into  the  work  of  every  laboring  man — I'll 
double  his  efficiency,  double  his  hours  and  halve  his 
pay,  and  I'll  cut  off  his  ability  to  help  himself.  I'll 
make  labor  unions  impossible.  I'll  gear  up,  pace  up, 
stiffen  up  the  whole  theory  of  life  and  work,  I  tell 
you,  gentlemen,'  said  I,  'so  that  one  hour  will  count 
for  two,  one  man  will  count  for  two,  one  wage  will 
count  for  two!  Do  you  get  me,  gentlemen?'  I  asked 
of  them — just  those  two  were  in  the  office  then,  and 


CHANGE   IN    KELLY   ROW  81 

the  door  was  locked  behind  me.  'You're  big  men/  said 
I,  'but  you're  not  as  big  as  I  am.  It's  a  cheap  bluff 
about  that  gun,'  I  said  to  Ackerman.  Tut  it  up.  You 
wouldn't  dare  kill  me,  or  dare  do  anything  I  didn't 
want  you  to.  I  came  to  you  because  it  was  easier  to 
walk  down  this  hall  than  it  was  to  walk  across  the 
street.  Do  you  want  me  to  walk  across  the  street  ?' " 

Rawn  chuckled  gently ;  and  now  indeed  he  did  pre 
sent  the  very  image  of  self-confidence.  "Well,  then, 
they  saw  it,"  said  he  finally.  "They  didn't  want  me 
to  walk  across  the  street !  Standley  laughed  at  Acker 
man.  'No  use  to  kill  him  yet,'  says  he.  I  laughed  then, 
we  all  laughed.  'No,  it  wouldn't  be  any  use,'  said  I  to 
them.  'The  question  is,  how  much  I  ought  to  give 
you.' 

"Ackerman  took  it  hard.  He's  a  bulldog  sort  of 
man.  'You're  damned  impudent!'  said  he.  Til  have 
you  fired.' 

"  Tm  fired  now !'  says  I  to  them.  'You  think  I'm 
only  a,  common  clerk.  Didn't  both  of  you  come  up 
from  clerking?  Can't  I  take  you  higher  yet  than  where 
you  are  now  ?'  The  Old  Man,  Standley,  nodded  then ; 
and  pretty  soon  he  reached  out  and  took  my  hand. 
'Come  in,  son,'  says  he.  'You're  on.' 

"Well,  that's  nearly  all  there  was  about  it,  Charley. 
I  say  to  you,  too,  'Come  in,  son — you're  on.' 


VIII 

"Now  then,"  he  went  on  in  his  monologue,  "we're 
up  to  the  wait  while  the  laws  are  being  made,  and 
while  all  the  plans  for  financing  the  proposition  are 
going  through.  We'll  have  to  pro-rate  this  stuff  with 


82  JOHN   RAWN 

the  big  railway  companies,  of  course,  and  with  the 
oil  and  steel  industries,  and  some  of  the  other  leading 
combinations — Standley  and  Ackerman'll  have  no 
trouble,  with  their  acquaintance  among  the  big  men 
of  the  East.  You  can't  stop  such  men.  Give  them  this 
idea  of  mine  and  you  can't  keep  them  from  controlling 
this  country.  These  are  things  that  can't  be  altered." 

"But  it  will  alter  the  world !"  exclaimed  young  Hal- 
sey,  at  last  beginning  to  arouse.  "Who  knows  how 
much  power  there  is  in  the  water  of  even  one  big 
river?  You  can  use  it  over  and  over  again.  Why, 
on  that  one  river — " 

"Our  river,"  said  John  Rawn,  smiling. 

"The  people's  river!"  retorted  Halsey  fiercely. 
"Their  river!  God  made  that  river,  and  all  the  rest 
of  them,  for  something,  I  don't  know  what.  But  it 
wasn't  for  this." 

"It'll  have  to  work,"  answered  John  Rawn.  "That 
river'll  have  to  work  to  earn  its  keep — they'll  all  have 
to!" 

"And  the  country — the  republic — what  will  become 
of  it?" 

"The  republic?  That  was  a  compromise.  We  per 
haps  had  to  live  through  that.  Conditions  in  govern 
ment  change."  Mr.  Rawn  spoke  largely,  finely,  with 
a  nice  appreciation  of  all  values. 

"My  God!"  whispered  Halsey.  "What  do  you 
mean  ?" 

IX 

Rawn  paid  small  attention  to  him,  and  he  broke  out 
yet  more  vehemently.  "But  it  is  an  enormous  thing 
— you  are  dealing  with  the  power  of  powers!  The 


CHANGE    IN    KELLY   ROW  83 

great  force  of  the  world  is  gravitation.  It  makes  the 
world  move,  keeps  the  sun  in  its  place.  Water  run 
ning  down  hill  never  tires.  It  doesn't  know  any  eight- 
hour  day." 

"That  term  will  cease  to  exist  within  two  years," 
said  John  Rawn  grimly.  "It  is  a  detestable  thing.  It 
has  hampered  business  long  enough." 

"What  do  you  mean  ?" 

"There's  no  such  thing  as  an  arbitrary  length  for  a 
day's  work.  The  agreed  day  has  lasted  long  enough. 
Money  is  made  by  setting  other  men  to  work  for  you, 
and  then  seeing  that  they  do  work.  When  you  have 
something  every  man  must  use,  when  you've  got  the 
final  whip-hand,  it's  you  who  set  the  working  day,  and 
not  those  who  work  for  you." 

"You're  talking  of  using  what  God  gave  to  human 
beings,  and  talking  of  making  worse  slaves  of  them 
to  that  gift.  That's  monstrous,  Mr.  Rawn !" 

"Is  it,  then?  To  our  notion  it  has  been  monstrous 
what  these  labor  combinations  have  tried  to  do.  Our 
great  industrial  leaders  have  been  used  unjustly.  Yet 
labor  is  only  mechanical  power,  that  has  to  eat,  and 
sleep,  and  wear  clothes.  Our  kind  of  power  doesn't 
have  to  do  those  things." 

"But,  Mr.  Rawn!  if  that  were  true — of  course  it 
can't  be  true — what  would  there  be  left  for  the  average 
man?  I  say  that  a  man  has  a  right  to  work  when  he 
likes,  and  a  right  to  stop  when  he  likes." 

"Precisely;  but  the  labor  unions  say  that  he  must 
stop  when  they  like.  Why  don't  you  use  your  brains, 
Charles?  The  old  war  was  between  capital,  that  is  to 
say,  concentrated  power,  and  labor,  which  is  uncon- 
centrated  power.  That  war  has  held  back  business  in 


84  JOHN    RAWN 

this  country  for  years.  Now,  when  I  told  these  men, 
Standley  and  Ackerman,  that  I  had  something  which 
would  wipe  out  every  labor  union  within  a  few  years 
— well,  they  had  to  come  in  with  me,  that  was  all. 
They  had  to. 


"The  trouble  with  you,"  contended  Rawn,  himself 
now  speaking  fiercely  as  he  loomed  and  lowered  above 
Halsey,  "the  trouble  with  all  you  dreamers  is  that 
you  have  no  real  imagination.  What's  the  use  talking 
about  the  rights  of  the  average  man?  When  did  the 
average  man  ever  start  or  stop  a  revolutionary  idea? 
When  these  things  come,  they  come,  and  you  can't 
help  them.  They  had  machinery  riots  in  Great  Brit 
ain  a  generation  or  two  ago,  but  the  spinning  jennies 
stuck.  It's  always  been  so — progress  sticks.  The 
people  have  to  adjust.  But  why  should  capital  keep 
on  fighting  labor,  or  truckling  to  it,  or  treating  with 
it,  when  we  can  take  labor  for  nothing,  as  you  just 
said,  out  of  the  power  of  gravitation — send  it  where 
we  like,  practically  for  nothing — labor  that  is  power, 
labor  that  doesn't  have  to  eat  and  doesn't  have  to  be 
paid  wages  ?  I  say  if  you  had  any  imagination  in  your 
soul,  my  son,  you'd  rise  to  a  thought  like  that." 

"But  that  average  man  still  must  eat,"  said  Halsey 
bitterly. 

"Let  him  eat  from  our  hands,  then !"  croaked  John 
Rawn  harshly.  "I  tell  you,  when  I  explained  this 
thing — when  I  showed  them  what  we  had  in  our 
hands,  those  big  men  broke  into  a  sweat.  They  could 
see  it,  if  you  can't. 

"But  as  for  me,"  he  continued,  standing  erect  and 


CHANGE    IN    KELLY   ROW  85 

spreading  apart  his  hands,  his  voice  softened  almost 
to  tremulousness,  "when  I  saw  where  this  thing  really 
was  going  to  put  us  all — in  control  of  the  labor  ques 
tion — beyond  the  attacks  of  the  muckraking  brigade — 
beyond  the  Supreme  Court,  if  the  time  ever  came  for 
that — when  I  saw  what  perfect  political,  legislative, 
and  industrial  control  we'd  have  in  all  this  country — 
I  say,  when  I  realized  what  all  this  meant,  I  felt  small 
and  humble — I  did  indeed.  I  saw  that  I  was  only 
an  instrument  of  Providence,  that's  all.  The  people? 
Why,  we'll  be  the  custodians  of  their  welfare,  that's 
all.  Some  men  are  set  apart,  devoted  to  that  duty- 
humble  agents  of  Providence,  my  son." 


XI 

A  frown  of  consecrated  unselfishness  sat  upon  the 
brow  of  John  Rawn.  The  younger  man  sat  looking 
at  him,  wondering  whether  there  were  not  here  really 
some  Homeric  jest.  "I  didn't  know  it  was  in  you," 
said  he,  rather  unfortunately,  at  last,  and  hastened 
to  cover :  "That's  right — it  is  imagination  !" 

Rawn  raised  a  hand  magnificently.  "Never  mind  as 
to  that,  Charles.  A  great  many  didn't  know  it  was  in 
me.  Why,  a  few  months  ago  I  told  my  wife  some 
thing  of  this.  She  asked  if  I'd  ever  be  rich  enough  to 
give  her  a  silk  dress !  When  the  factory's  up  and  the 
wheels  are  moving — then  I'll  take  her  out  to  the  place, 
and  I'll  say  to  her  just  what  you  said  to  me — 'You 
didn't  think  it  was  in  me,  did  you?  But  it  was!' 
Women  nearly  always  think  their  husbands  can't  do 
anything  in  the  world.  A  silk  dress !  My  God  !  And 
she  wanted  a  new  gate  in  the  picket  fence,  too." 


86  JOHN   RAWN 

"I  didn't  know  that  about  women,"  said  Halsey 
simply.  "I  thought  it  was  the  other  way  about." 

"Well,  well,  I  hope  it  may  be  that  way  in  your  case. 
Listen,  Charles.  I  love  my  girl,  Grace.  She  has  al 
ways  been  a  good  child.  I'm  putting  you  in  a  place 
where  you  can  take  good  care  of  her.  I  want  you  to 
stick  to  her  for  ever,  through  thick  and  thin.  Remem 
ber,  my  son,  that  your  wife  is  your  wife,  and  that 
nothing  must  separate  you  from  her." 

"Maybe  it'll  work  out  something  afier  my  idea,  after 
all."  Halsey  spoke  pleasantly  as  he  could  at  this  men 
tion  of  Grace. 

"We'll  take  our  chances  but  what  it  will  work  out 
our  way !"  said  John  Rawn,  grinning  in  return.  "You 
want  to  work  for  man,  do  you  ?  Well,  I  want  men  to 
work  for  me!  " 


XII 


"But  weVe  no  quarrel,"  he  said  suddenly,  wheeling 
about.  "We'll  be  partners  from  the  start.  There  are 
some  minor  particulars  to  work  out.  I've  got  to  have 
some  sort  of  shop  out  in  the  back  yard.  Bring  your 
little  machine  there — the  model  you  said  would  not 
quite  work." 

"How  long  before  we  begin,  Mr.  Rawn?"  asked 
Halsey  simply. 

"I  have  my  last  pay  envelope  in  my  pocket  now,  to 
day." 

"Didn't  they  give  you  any  capital  to  start  with  ?" 

"I  did  not  dare  ask  it." 

"But  how  much  funds  have  you  of  your  own  ?" 

"Mighty  little.    I've  been  kept  down  all  my  life.    It's 


CHANGE   IN   KELLY   ROW  87 

been  pretty;  much!  week  to  week  with  me,  although 
Laura's  been  a  wonderful  manager,  I'll  say  that." 

"I've  saved  a  little  money,"  said  Halsey,  quietly  as 
before.  "I  even  believe  Grace  has  saved  her  salary — 
eight  a  week.  You  see,  we  were  making  plans — here's 
my  bank-book.  A  little  over  five  hundred.  How 
much  would  you  need,  Mr.  Rawn,  to  take  care  of  you 
for  the  next  few  days  that  you  require  for  this  work  ?" 

"I've  got  to  have  some  working  models  made,  and 
it'll  take  some  cash,"  said  Rawn.  "I've  hardly  had 
time  to  work  out  all  these  things  as  yet.  All  right. 
All  the  more  pleasure  for  you  to  feel  that  you  had  a 
hand  in  it." 

He  reached  across  the  table  and  took  the  dog-eared 
bank-book  which  Halsey  extended,  and  ran  his  eye 
down  the  column  of  pitiable  figures.  The  total  was 
more  than  he  himself  had  ever  saved  in  all  his  life. 
Yet  John  Rawn  stood  there  now  calm,  large  and 
strong,  and  spoke  in  millions. 


XIII 

"All  right,  Mr.  Rawn,"  said  Halsey  cheerfully. 
"Take  it  along.  I'll  draw  the  balance  out  for  you.  I 
reckon  Grace  and  I  won't  have  to  wait  any  longer  this 
way  than  we  would  the  other." 

"Well,  be  mighty  careful  to  keep  things  to  yourself, 
that's  all!"  was  Rawn's  answer.  "If  you're  going  to 
be  my  son-in-law,  you're  going  to  be  loyal  to  my  ideas. 
One  of  my  ideas  is  that  a  man  has  a  right  to  what  he 
can  take." 

"Mr.  Rawn,  do  you  know  anything  about  social 
ism?"  asked  Halsey  suddenly. 


88  JOHN   RAWN 

"Not  very  much.    Why  should  I  ?" 

"There's  sort  of  a  brotherhood,  or  chapter,  or  so 
ciety,  or  what  you'd  call  it  here,  you  know." 

"I've  heard  so." 

"And  they  let  anybody  who  is  interested  come  to 
the  meetings — I've  been  there  often — did  I  ever  tell 
you?  Our  rooms  are  up-stairs  over  a  saloon,  up 
under  the  rafters.  We  have  lanterns  there,  the  way 
the  revolutionists  used  to  have  over  in  Europe, 
when  they  had  to  meet  in  secret.  We  have  speakers 
there  sometimes — from  Milwaukee,  New  York,  even 
from  Europe.  And  I  want  to  tell  you  it's  astonishing 
what  a  talk  you'll  hear  there  sometimes,  from  some 
chap  that  you  wouldn't  think  had  it  in  him — just 
rough-dressed  fellows  that  look  as  if  they  hadn't  a  dol 
lar  in  the  world." 

"They  usually  haven't,"  said  John  Rawn  coldly. 
"They  want  to  get  the  dollars  of  men  like  myself  and 
my  friends,  who  really  have  done  something  in  the 
way  of  developing  this  country.  But  one  thing  sure, 
you'll  cut  out  that  brotherhood  business  when  you  go 
to  work  with  us.  The  rights  of  man! — the  future  of 
this  country !  Why,  good  God,  boy,  with  the  grip 
you  can  get  on  business,  with  us  to  help  you,  what 
difference  does  it  make  to  you  whether  you  call  this 
a  republic  or  anything  else?  What  is  this  republic? 
That  is,  what  was  it  ?" 

XIV 

Halsey  sat  staring  at  him  fixedly  for  some  time, 
without  making  answer.  Rawn,  carelessly  buttoning 
up  in  his  pocket  the  bank-book,  as  though  it  had  been 
his  own,  rose  at  length  and  held  out  his  hand. 


CHANGE   IN    KELLY   ROW  89 

"You're  a  good  boy,  Charles,"  said  he.  "You've 
done  the  best  you  knew,  and  that's  about  all  I've  done. 
You  couldn't  say,  of  course,  that  our  ideas  have  been 
the  same  in  regard  to  this  discovery,  so  I  suppose  we 
can't  wonder  they  are  not  the  same  in  regard  to  its 
eventual  application.  Let's  not  argue  about  that. 
We'll  start  out  with  our  little  shop,  the  first  thing." 

The  young  man  still  looked  at  him,  still  withheld 
comment.  Rawn,  once  more  full  of  himself,  almost 
forgot  him  now.  He  stood  erect,  his  arms  spread  out, 
in  a  favorite  posture,  as  though  exhorting  a  multitude. 
A  pleasant,  gentle,  generous  smile  spread  over  his 
countenance,  a  smile  which  showed  his  content  with 
himself,  his  future  prospects,  his  past  performances. 

"You  ought  to  have  been  there  with  me,  Charles, 
when  I  talked  to  old  Standley  and  his*  side  partner, 
Ackerman.  That  was  the  big  scene  of  my  whole 
life!" 

"The  big  scene  ?"  said  Halsey,  half  musingly.  "No ! 
Maybe  not.  We  don't  know  what  there  may  be  on 
ahead." 

"Isn't  that  the  truth!"  assented  John  Rawn  gra 
ciously.  "When  a  man  of  brains  and  energy  gets  his 
start,  there's  no  telling  where  he  won't  go,  or  what  he 
won't  do.  Yes,  that's  the  truth !" 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  WOODSHED  IN  KELLY  ROW 


THE  one  astonishing  thing  about  life,  as  we  have 
but  now  mentioned,  is  its  utter  commonplaceness. 
It  is  a  terrible  thing  to  die,  to  end  our  connection  with 
life  as  we  know  it ;  yet  folk  die,  and  the  world  accepts 
the  fact  with  not  more  than  a  few  hours'  concern. 
Folk  are  born,  a  very  wonderful  thing,  yet  a  common. 
We  flash  messages  across  the  sea — as  soon  we  shall 
across  the  ether,  to  other  planets.  The  latter  event 
will  be  but  of  brief  interest.  We  travel  by  impounded 
steam,  and  have  long  ago  ceased  to  marvel  at  that 
miracle.  Soon  we  will  travel  by  means  of  other  power, 
at  speeds  inconceivable  to-day.  Were  that  time  here 
we  would  not  wonder.  It  is  all,  all  commonplace.  And 
none  of  us  does  much  thinking.  It  is  only  over  the  un 
important  things  that  we  ponder.  Thus,  over  a  revolu 
tion  in  politics  we  chatter  excitedly ;  but  the  revolution 
in  principles  excites  us  not  at  all.  The  revolution  in 
science,  in  thought,  in  life,  is  accepted,  when  it  comes, 
with  no  concern,  as  though  belonging  to  us  from  time 
immemorial ;  as  indeed  it  did. 

It  was  wholly  within  human  practice  that  affairs 
should  now  go  on  at  Kelly  Row  much  as  they  had  al- 

90 


THE   WOODSHED    IN    KELLY   ROW     91 

ways  gone,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  Kelly  Row  now 
harbored,  in  a  certain  woodshed  back  of  the  dingy 
Rawn  abode,  ideas  and  deeds  that  had  not  earlier  been 
known  in  Kelly  Row  routine.  Here  Mr.  Rawn  and  his 
intending  son-in-law  were  carrying  on  experiments 
whose  most  immediate  result,  in  case  of  success,  would 
be  the  extrication  of  Mr.  Rawn  from  rather  an  awk 
ward  situation;  because,  although  Mr.  Rawn,  in  the 
usual  and  commonplace  human  fashion,  had  taken  as 
his  own  an  idea  when  he  saw  it,  he  negligently  had  done 
so  forgetful  of  the  fact  that  it  still  lacked  many  fea 
tures  as  a  definite  commercial  proposition. 


ii 

Rawn  had  told  the  truth  regarding  his  resources. 
He  had  but  one  month's  salary  in  his  pocket  when 
these  final  experiments  began,  and  for  this  money 
there  was  just  as  much  need  as  there  ever  had  been  in 
any  other  month ;  for  Laura  Rawn  had  quite  as  much 
use,  at  the  going  scale  of  living,  for  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  dollars  a  month  now,  as  she  had  had  for 
seventy-five  dollars  a  month  five  years  earlier.  Yet 
when  Laura  Rawn  suggested  a  deferred  payment  on 
certain  weekly  bills,  the  shopkeepers  to  whom  she  had 
been  paying  her  stipend  daily  for  years  demurred' 
sorely.  The  truth  is  that  the  poorest  way  in  the  world 
to  establish  a  credit  is  to  pay  bills  in  cash.  Foolishly 
allow  a  man  to  see  your  cash,  and  he  can  see  nothing 
else.  Pay  him  partly  in  cash,  partly  in  good  checks, 
partly  in  bad  ones,  and  partly  not  at  all,  and  he  will 
trust  you  largely;  this  being  a  commercial  truth  not 
known  of  all  men,  although  worth  knowing.  It  may 


92  JOHN   RAWN 

be  seen,  therefore,  that  young  Halsey's  little  capital 
of  five  hundred  dollars  was  as  important  as  young 
Halsey's  original  idea;  which  latter  Mr.  Rawn  had 
also  appropriated. 

So  now  these  two  bought  very  considerable  bundles 
of  copper  wire  and  other  things,  and  made  several 
machines  of  this  and  the  other  shape,  and  tried  divers 
experiments  which  need  not  be  set  down  here.  In 
all  this  work  young  Halsey's  manual  skill  and  tech 
nical  training  continually  was  in  quest,  John  Rawn 
for  the  most  part  standing  by  and  frowning  heavily, 
watching  Jacob  labor  for  the  earning  of  Rachel:  for 
Halsey  knew  this  surrender  of  his  idea  was  the  price 
of  Grace.  Halsey  had  little  hope  of  ultimate  success 
in  his  appliances.  Not  so  Rawn.  He  had  something 
akin  to  a  feeling  of  certainty. 


in 

Differing  thus — yet  who  shall  say  they  were  not 
partners,  after  all,  since  all  these  things  were  true 
regarding  them  ? — they  at  last  emerged  from  the  wood 
shed  in  Kelly  Row,  after  many  long  weeks,  whose 
deeds  we  need  not  further  chronicle.  They  carried 
into  the  front  room  of  the  Rawn  house  in  Kelly  Row 
a  small  machine,  which  presently  was  to  do  large 
things ;  that  is  to  say,  to  save  the  self-respect  of  cer 
tain  prominent  railway  men  who  by  this  time  were 
convinced  that  they  had  been  hypnotized  to  their  dis 
advantage;  and  also  to  save  the  face  of  John  Rawn, 
although  he  had  not  known  his  face  had  needed 
saving. 

This  novel  and  mysterious  little  machine,  with  a 


THE  WOODSHED   IN   KELLY  ROW     93 

glass  jar  underneath,  many  coils  and  wheels  within, 
and  an  odd,  toothed  crest  of  little  upreaching  metal 
fingers,  had  been  produced  only  at  great  cost,  great 
sacrifice.  It  had  seemed  wholly  right  and  reasonable 
that  all  of  young  Halsey's  five  hundred  dollars  should 
disappear  little  by  little,  and  it  had  done  so,  long  ago. ' 
It  seemed  proper  that  the  small  savings  which  Grace 
had  deposited  in  a  tin  baking-powder  can — for  she 
was  like  her  mother,  part  ground-squirrel,  and  se 
cretive — should  also  disappear  little  by  little,  and 
they  also  had  gone.  In  some  way,  only  the  women 
knew;  how,  they  all  had  had  enough  to  eat,  so  far  as 
that  meant  actually  necessary  food;  but  the  entire 
Rawn  family  were  a  gaunt  and  haggard,  as  well  as  a 
wearied  and  anxious  quartette,  when  finally  they 
gathered  about  the  little  machine  out  of  the  woodshed. 
Their  play  was  on  one  card,  and  the  card  was  turned. 
What  was  it? 

If  either  of  the  women  doubted,  she  held  her  peace. 
Rawn  did  not  doubt.  He  had  been  sure  all  along  that 
Charles  Halsey,  engineer,  would  work  out  his, 
Rawn's,  idea. 

And  young  Halsey,  engineer,  had  done  that  very 
thing.  There  is  no  roof  in  all  the  world  ever  has  cov 
ered  a  vaster  and  more  epoch-making  thought  than 
did  the  patched  cover  of  the  woodshed  in  Kelly  Row. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  day  wherein  they  emerged 
from  the  woodshed,  these  two,  none  too  well  clad, 
took  the  street-car  to  the  city,  Halsey  with  a  newspa 
per  bundle  under  his  arm.  In  it  was  what  Mr.  Rawn 
called  his  second-current  motor,  which  comprised  the 
basic  idea  of  International  Power,  soon  to  loom,  large 
in  the  business  world. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  TEST 


IN  the  most  commonplace  way  in  the  world,  and 
quite  as  though  he  had  always  done  this  very  thing, 
Mr.  Henry  Warfield  Standley,  president  of  the  I.  & 
D.  A.  Railway  Co.,  warned  in  advance  by  Mr.  Rawn's 
telephone,  came  to  the  door  himself.  Presently  the 
three,  Rawn,  Halsey  and  the  president  of  the  com 
pany  for  which  both  so  long  had  worked,  sat  at  the 
long  glass-covered  table,  where  lay  many  papers.  The 
president  pushed  a  button  and  ordered  the  attendance 
of  Mr.  Theodosius  Ackerman,  the  general  traffic 
manager ;  so  that  now  they  made  four  in  company. 
The  G.  T.  M.,  as  he  was  known,  had  suffered  great 
abrasion  of  the  nerves  by  the  delay  of  Mr.  Rawn  to 
produce  a  machine  done  up  in  a  newspaper  or  in  any 
way  whatsoever,  and  he  had  joined  the  president  in 
a  disgusted  belief  that  in  some  way  he  had  been  made 
foolish.  He  frowned  now  savagely  at  John  Rawn,  and 
John  Rawn  now,  his  hat  on  his  head,  frowned  quite  as 
savagely  at  him. 

Very  little  was  said,  but  after  a  time  young  Halsey 
nervously  removed  the  newspaper  from  his  little  ma 
chine,  and  displayed  it  uncovered  on  the  table,  a  ribbed 
and  coiled  and  toothed  little  model,  showing  file  marks 

94 


THE   TEST  95 

here  and  there,  and  resembling  nothing  in  particular 
in  the  world.  They  four  regarded  it  calmly,  curi 
ously,  this  machine  destined  in  the  belief  of  some  to 
double  the  length  of  the  workman's  day,  to  halve  the 
distance  around  the  world,  to  make  or  break  fortunes, 
to  make  or  break  a  country.  The  president  started  to 
jest,  but  his  voice  shook  a  trifle  after  all.  To  the 
general  traffic  manager  the  contrivance  seemed  ab 
surdly  small  and  inadequate.  He  choked  so  much  he 
could  not  talk.  Rawn  did  not  smile.  He  continued 
his  heavy  frown.  Young  Halsey,  tacitly  elected 
spokesman  by  Rawn,  cleared  his  throat  as  he  ad 
dressed  the  president  of  the  road,  for  whom  he  still 
felt  naught  but  awe. 

"We  have  put  our  receiver  in  tune  with  the  dyna 
mo  in  the  basement  of  this  building,  Mr.  Standley," 
began  he,  finally.  Both  the  magnates  frowned  at  Mr. 
Halsey's  presumption  and  turned  to  Mr.  Rawn.  The 
latter  waved  a  large  gesture. 

"I  forgot  to  say,  gentlemen,  that  Mr.  Halsey  has 
aided  me  in  working  out  my  model,  and  it  is  just  as 
well  he  should  explain  my  idea."  Halsey  therefore 
went  on: 

"And  now  you  can  see  right  here,  on  the  table  be 
fore  you,  about  all  the  rest  of  it  that  we  have.  It 
isn't  attached  to  anything  at  all.  There  is  no  wired 
connection  of  any  sort  whatever.  Now  if  we  can  run 
that  electric  fan  over  there  with  'juice'  that  we  can 
take  right  out  of  the  air — with  the  second  current 
which  we  take  out  of  the  motor  in  the  basement — just 
as  well  as  the  primary  current  wired  to  the  fan  will 
run  it,  why,  then,  it  looks  to  me  as  though  our  re 
ceiver  here  ought  to  be  accepted  as  a  working  device." 


96  JOHN   RAWN 

The  room  was  silent  now.  They  sat  looking  at  him. 
He  resumed: 

"Besides,  this  receiver  is  more  powerful  than  you 
think.  I  suppose  I  could  burst  that  fan  wide  open 
with  it,  by  just  wiring  the  two,  after  disconnecting 
the  original  wiring  of  the  fan  to  the  house  dynamo." 

Halsey  spoke  very  calmly,  yet  the  hands  of  the  presi 
dent  of  the  road,  resting  on  the  edge  of  the  table, 
trembled  slightly.  The  righting  red  had  disappeared 
from  the  face  of  the  G.  T.  M.  He  was  bluish  gray,  as 
though  deathly  ill.  He  was,  however,  the  first  to  re 
cover.  "Well,  why  don't  you  burst  it,  then?"  he  ex 
claimed  savagely,  mopping  at  his  forehead. 


ii 

"Very  well,"  said  Halsey  quietly.  "But  first  I  sup 
pose  I  ought  to  explain  just  a  little  about  the  basic 
idea  under  this  whole  proposition.  You  see  that  table 
there — we  regard  it  as  motionless.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  it  is  full  of  nothing  but  motion,  so  tremendously 
rapid  that  we  are  unconscious  of  it.  That  wall  yonder 
is  nothing  but  a  continuous  series  of  vibrations,  of 
inconceivable  rapidity.  This  floor  is  full  of  force,  of 
energy.  It's  all  around  us — energy,  force,  motion. 

"In  your  studies  in  physics,  gentlemen,  you  learned 
that  heat  and  motion  are  convertible.  And  you 
learned  about  the  resultant  of  power — which  always, 
so  far  as  any  accepted  law  of  physics  goes,  is  in  ratio 
to  the  distance  through  which  applied. 

"Now,  what  I've  done,"  said  Halsey — John  Rawn 
frowned  and  coughed  heavily,  but  no  one  noticed  him, 
and  Halsey  himself  was  unconscious  of  using  the  first 


THE   TEST  97 

personal  pronoun — "is  just  to  cut  off  all  need  of  con 
sidering  the  distance  through  which  force  is  applied. 
Now,  I  don't  know  whether  I  can  make  it  entirely 
plain  to  you,  except  by  physical  demonstration,  but 
what  I've  done  here  is  to  carry  further  the  idea  of 
wireless  telegraphy.  We  have  here,  to  use  an  under 
standable  figure  of  speech,  a  receiver  which  is  the 
equivalent  of  a  sounding-board — a  sounding-board  in 
tune  to  the  vibrations  of  the  second  or  free  current  of 
electricity. 

"Gentlemen,  our  idea  was,  in  terms,  that  of  harness 
ing1  up  molecular  activity.  If  we  have  done  that,  we 
have,  of  course,  tapped  the  one  exhaustless  reservoir 
of  power." 

in 

The  oresident  of  the  railway  had  grown  yet  paler; 
but  he  nodded  wisely,  and  Halsey  went  on : 

"There  isn't  any  miracle  in  science  that  ought  to 
cause  us  any  wonder.  It  took  science  a  long  time  to 
learn  that  heat  and  motion  are  interchangeable.  I 
strike  a  cold  piece  of  iron  with  a  moving  hammer,  and 
the  iron  gets  hot.  It  was  cold  before,  and  there  hasn't 
been  any  fire  near  it.  That's  just  as  wonderful  a 
thing — although  we  all  accept  it  without  question — as 
all  that  I've  got  here  on  the  table  before  you.  If  I 
can  stop  some  of  the  free  energy  that  is  vibrating  all 
around  us,  I'm  going  to  get  either  motion  or  heat 
out  of  it,  and  that's  simple.  We  have  gone  far  enough 
to  know  that  this  little  receiver  here,  gentlemen,  will 
arrest  the  free  current  of  electricity,  force,  energy, 
whatever  you  care  to  call  it,  that's  in  the  air  and 
which  can  be  multiplied  and  transmitted  through  the 


98  JOHN   RAWN 

air.  Why  and  how  it  does  that,  I  can't  just  tell,  my 
self.  No  one  has  ever  been  able  to  explain  everything 
about  the  magnetic  needle,  but  we  use  it  just  the 
same.  We  don't  so  much  care  what  it  is  if  we  can 
use  it." 

"Not  a  damned  bit !"  growled  the  G.  T.  M.  "But 
can  we?  Why  don't  you  get  busy  with  that  fan?" 

Halsey  rose  and  went  over  to  the  electric  fan  and 
snipped  off  a  length  of  the  wire,  so  that  the  fan  stood 
free  and  unattached  on  its  shelf.  The  loose  wire  he 
now  busied  himself  in  attaching  to  the  fan  and  in  turn 
to  the  little  model  on  the  table. 

"To  my  mind,"  said  he,  after  finishing  this  work, 
and  arresting  a  finger  above  a  little  connecting  lever 
in  the  side  of  the  receiver,  "it's  a  very  beautiful 
thought  that  underlies  all  this.  The  forces  which  run 
through  this  receiver  will  never  grow  tired.  Labor 
will  be  a  joy  for  them,  a  delight,  as  labor  ought  to  be 
in  any  form.  Mr.  Rawn  and  I  don't  always  quite 
agree  about  that,"  he  smiled,  still  with  his  finger 
above  the  little  lever.  "What  I  hope  to  do  is  to  change 
the  working-man  from  being  an  object  back  into  being 
a  man,  so  that  labor  may  be  a  joy  and  not  a  dread." 

"Then  we  don't  want  it,"  grinned  the  president, 
feebly  essaying  a  jest.  "Mr.  Rawn  and  I  were  agreed 
that  it  would  do  just  the  other  thing!" 

"Well,  go  on  with  it!"  growled  Ackerman.  "I'm 
a  busy  man.  To  hell  with  the  story!  We  want  re 
sults  !" 

Every  man  present  sprang  back  from  the  little  in 
strument  on  the  table.  There  came  a  slowly  increas 
ing  purr  of  the  motor,  a  series  of  intense  blue  sparks 
showing  at  the  toothed  points  of  reception.  The 


THE   TEST  99 

blades  of  the  fan  began  to  revolve  faster  and  faster; 
so  fast  that  at  length  both  eye  and  ear  ceased  to  re 
cord  their  doings.  Then,  after  sight  and  sound  had 
failed  to  serve,  there  came  a  crash ! 

There  was  no  fan  on  the  shelf  where  it  had  stood. 
Fragments  of  metal  were  buried  in  the  woodwork,  in 
the  wall.  John  Rawn  wiped  the  blood  from  a  cut  on 
his  cheek.  No  one  said  anything.  It  was  quite  com 
monplace,  after  all. 


IV 


"You  wished  to  see  what  it  would  do,"  said  Halsey 
grimly.  "The  power  seems  to  be  there.  Any  time 
you  like,  any  amount  you  like.  And  you  saw  that  it 
didn't  come  in  here  by  wire — it  was  only  transmitted 
from  the  receiver,  not  to  it.  The  fan  is  broken,  but 
the  receiver  is  just  the  way  we  left  it.  Well,  it  looks 
as  though  we  had  settled  a  few  questions,  doesn't  it?" 

Standley,  pale,  could  only  gasp,  "Why,  it's — it's 
dangerous!"  he  said.  "It's  devilish!  Look  there!" 
He  pointed  at  the  blood  on  Rawn's  face.  Rawn  re 
mained  silent. 

"There  is  no  use  applying  undue  force  to  a  minor 
purpose,"  said  Halsey,  "any  more  than  there  is  in 
throwing  on  the  high  speed  of  a  car  going  down  hill. 
But  our  reserve  is  there,  gentlemen,  just  the  same. 
By  increasing  the  size  of  our  receivers  we  can  develop 
power  to  turn  any  amount  of  machinery  that  can  be 
geared  together — any  number  of  machines,  large  or 
small,  at  any  place.  I  only  wanted  to  show  what  the 
real  power  is  in  this  device  of  ours.  Our  receiver  is 
very  small,  you  see." 


ioo  JOHN   RAWN 

They  all  remained  silent  for  a  time.  Standley  at 
last  drew  a  long  breath. 

"We're  saved!"  said  he.  "What  do  you  say  to  it, 
Jim?"  This  to  Ackerman. 

"It  looks  like  a  go,"  said  the  latter,  drawing  a  deep 
sigh.  "We've  seen  enough  right  here  to  make  good 
with  our  people  back  East ;  and  we've  got  enough  right 
now  to  get  the  public  in." 

The  president  turned  an  agitated  eye  upon  John 
Rawn.  "Mr.  Rawn,"  said  he,  "referring  to  the  tenor 
of  our  earlier  conversation,  I  desire  to  say  that  we 
are  not  in  the  habit  of  giving  the  lion's  share  to  any 
body—" 

"Suit  yourself,"  said  John  Rawn,  smiling. 

"But  in  this  case,  as  I  said  to  you  at  first,  there's 
so  much  in  this  if  there's  anything  at  all,  that  there's 
no  use  splitting  hairs  over  it."  He  receded  rapidly 
from  the  position  he  coveted  but  saw  he  could  not  hold. 

"We  ought  to  begin  work  at  once.  Er — Mr.  Rawn, 
do  you  happen  to  have  any  present  need  for  any 
money — personally  ?" 

"No,"  answered  John  Rawn  calmly,  "I  am  in  no 
need  of  funds.  When  the  organization  is  completed, 
and  I  begin  my  work  as  president  of  the  power  com 
pany,  I  shall  be  glad  to  go  on  the  pay-roll,  of  course. 
I  should  add  now  that  I  expect  Mr.  Halsey  to  be  my 
general  manager  in  the  mechanical  department." 
.  "In  regard  to  salaries,"  said  the  president,  hesitat 
ing,  "we  might  roughly  sketch  out  something — " 

"My  own  salary  will  be  a  hundred  thousand  dollars 
a  year,"  said  Mr.  Rawn  quietly.  "I  don't  think  we 
should  ask  Mr.  Halsey  to  work  for  less  than  five 
thousand.  Do  you,  gentlemen?" 


.THE   TEST  lot 


"I've   worked    for    less,   myself/-    s^id  < 
grimly. 

"There  shall  be  no  haggling,  gentlemen,  no  hag 
gling,"  said  the  president  blandly.  "It  shall  be  as 
Mr.  Rawn  suggests.  By  the  way,  a  near  call  that, 
Rawn." 

He  waved  a  hand  at  the  bloody  cut  on  our  hero's 
face.  That  gentleman  drew  a  half  sigh  of  unconscious 
triumph.  It  was  the  first  time  any  one  in  that  office 
had  ever  dropped  the  "Mister"  from  his  name!  He 
saw  himself  entering  into  the  charmed  circle. 

"Suppose  it  had  come  a  half  inch  closer?"  sug 
gested  the  president. 

"It  didn't,"  said  John  Rawn.  "It  was  never  meant 
to." 

"That's  the  talk!"  drawled  Ackerman.  "I'll  tell 
you,  Rawn,  come  in  to-morrow.  We'll  get  the  patent 
lawyers  and  our  corporation  counsel,  and  begin  work 
on  this  thing." 


That  was  all  there  was  about  it,  the  proceedings 
being  wholly  prosaic  and  commonplace.  Mr.  Halsey 
found  again  his  newspaper,  again  wrapped  up  his 
machine  therein,  took  it  under  his  arm,  and  hesitat 
ingly  turned  toward  the  door,  the  palest  now,  and 
most  unhappy  of  them  all.  He  had  denied  his  own 
first-born.  He  had  publicly  disclaimed  ownership  in 
this  idea.  Rawn  was  to  have  a  hundred  thousand  dol 
lars  a  year,  he  only  a  twentieth  of  that.  Just  where 
and  how  was  Rawn.  twenty  times  as  valuable  as  him 
self,  when  all  the  time  it  had  been  he. — But  then,  what 
matter?  Five  thousand  dollars  a  year  and  Grace! 


102  JOHN   RAWN 

What  more  could  any  man  desire  than  that?  He 
forced  that  to  'console  him,  forced  himself  to  believe 
it  sordid  to  haggle  on  the  price  of  love ;  and  so  passed 
down  in  the  elevator,  out  through  the  corridors  to 
the  street,  without  much  further  speech  to  any. 

"Charles,"  said  his  intended  father-in-law,  as  they 
approached  the  nearest  corner,  "do  you  happen  to 
have  a  quarter  left?  I  feel  somewhat  hungry,  and 
for  the  time  I  have  no  money  at  all  with  me." 


CHAPTER  XII 


THE    HELPMEET 


A7TER  all,  Charles  Halsey  still  was  young  enough 
to  be  happy.  There  are  really  very  few  delights 
for  the  man  nearing  middle  age.  The  period  of  joy 
in  living  is  confined  to  what  time,  passing  upon  the 
crowded  street,  the  young  man  notes  the  sidelong, 
half-concealed  glance  of  the  unknown  young  woman, 
unconsciously  taking  in  his  goodliness,  his  god-like 
ness,  such  as  that  may  be ;  or  to  what  time  the  young 
woman,  in  turn,  after  some  such  incident,  turning  by 
merest  chance  to  look  at  some  passing  cloud,  or  to  note 
the  brightness  of  the  sky,  finds  that  some  young  man 
whom  she  but  now  passed  also  has  turned  about,  by 
mere  chance,  to  examine  the  colors  of  the  sky,  and  so 
by  accident  has  fastened  gaze  upon  her  instead!  As 
the  grasshopper  cometh  on  to  be  a  burden,  the  time 
arrives  when  this  or  that  gray-browed  man  may  gaze 
at  passing  damsel  and  elicit  no  reward  in  turn.  Sitting 
in  crowded  vehicle  he  glances  above  the  rim  of  his 
paper,  and  suddenly  smiles  to  himself  that  his  mature 
charms  have  riveted  the  attention  of  the  young  girl 
across  the  aisle.  Happy  moment — were  it  not  that 
closer  scrutiny  would  prove  the  young  girl's  eye 

103 


104  JOHN   RAWN 

to  be  fixed,  not  upon  middle  age,  but  upon  ruddy- 
faced  youth  in  the  seat  beyond ! 

No  hope  for  Graybeard  after  middle  age,  when  the 
grasshopper  is  a  burden ;  save  such  hope  as  may  be  his 
through  the  power  of  money.  Thenceforth  perhaps 
remain  for  him  only  such  self-deceits  as  that  money 
may  purchase  fidelity,  joy,  love,  happiness  of  any 
sort ;  which  deceits  end  later  on,  in  that  hour  of  severe 
self-searching  which  remains  for  each  of  us  just  be 
fore  we  depart  for  other  spheres.  As  for  this  par 
ticular  obloid  sphere  and  its  tenantry,  there  are  two 
seasons — a  season  of  growth  and  flower,  a  season  of 
seeding  and  decaying.  As  for  delights,  life  passes  at 
that  indefinite  period,  from  twenty-five  to  fifty-five 
years  of  age,  let  us  say,  when  the  opposite  sex,  passing 
us  unknown  upon  the  street,  turns  no  longer  the  in 
advertent  sidelong  gaze! 


ii 

When  John  Rawn  walked  toward  his  home  after 
the  events  of  the  meeting  last  foregoing  described,  he 
cast  few  sidelong  glances,  and  received  few.  If  that 
were  faithfulness  to  a  worthy  wife,  make  the  most  of 
it.  Upon  the  other  hand  note  that,  as  Mr.  Halsey  trod 
the  air  on  his  way  to  Kelly  Row,  his  newspaper  bundle 
under  his  arm,  there  did  not  lack  abundance  of  young 
women  who  saw  him  from  the  corner  of  the  eye  as 
he  passed  on.  Forsooth,  he  was  a  young  man  of  very 
adequate  physical  appearance,  clean,  hard,  high  of 
cheek,  square  of  shoulder,  his  hair  dark  and  long,  his 
eye  gray,  direct,  kindly.  His  life  hitherto  had  been 
so  narrow  that  he  had  lived  well  and  wisely.  His 


THE   HELPMEET  105 

powers  were  well  preserved,  he  remained  physically 
clean  and  fit.  Rather  a  decent  chap,  you  would  have 
called  him,  as  he  passed  now,  his  strong  chin  well  for 
ward,  his  eye  shaft-like  and  strong  in  its  glances.  Not 
an  extraordinary  young  man,  perhaps,  but  certainly 
serving  well  enough  to  show  that  youth  speaks  to 
youth ;  and  that,  when  youth  is  past,  all  is  past.  Ex 
cepting — as  John  Rawn  would  have  noted — the  mak 
ing  of  money ;  which  means  not  much  to  youth  itself, 
but  which  means  all  to  middle  age. 

Of  all  this  very  wise  and  useful  philosophy,  be  sure, 
Mr.  Halsey  was  ignorant,  or  regarding  it,  was  indif 
ferent.  He  had  forgotten  that  almost  his  last  silver 
coin  had  furnished  Mr.  Rawn  his  last  meal,  in  which 
Halsey  himself  had  not  joined.  Grace!  That  was  in 
his  mind.  He  was  young.  Success  was  now  at  hand ; 
because  presently  he  should  have  five  thousand  dollars 
a  year  in  salary,  and  be  married  to  the  dearest  girl  in 
all  the  world.  It  is  always  the  dearest  girl  in  all  the 
world,  for  men  when  they  are  less  than  thirty-five, 
say  twenty-five  years  of  age.  But  Halsey  did  not  phil 
osophize.  He  was  guided  only  by  some  unconscious 
cerebration  when  he  descended  from  the  street-car  and 
bent  his  way  toward  Kelly  Row.  He  pulled  up  at  the 
stoop  of  the  third  house  in  that  homely  procession  of 
brick  abodes  which  rented  for  twenty  dollars  a  month 
• — with  no  repairs  by  the  landlord. 


in 

He  found  Grace  at  home,  Mrs.  Rawn  also  at  home. 
They  came  to  meet  him,  laid  hold  of  him  before  he 
was  well  into  the  narrow  little  hall.  There  was  that 


io6  JOHN   RAWN 

in  his  face,  in  his  eyes,  in  his  soul  which  told  them 
that  success  at  last  had  come  to  Kelly  Row. 

He  put  his  hand  in  Mrs.  Rawn's,  his  arm  about 
Grace's  waist.  They  two  were  young,  they  were  very 
happy.  Their  hands  were  interclasped  when  presently 
they  all  passed  from  the  hall  into  the  little  parlor. 
The  eyes  of  Grace  Rawn  became  soft,  luminous,  ten 
der.  The  young  man  had  come  into  her  life.  She 
was  very  happy.  She  was  young.  Ambition  was  as 
yet  unknown  to  her.  Her  coin-current  was  not  yet 
money ;  which  of  all  things  has  the  very  least  of  pur 
chasing  power.  She  was  almost  beautiful  now. 

Mrs.  Rawn,  grave,  thin,  careworn,  bent  by  many 
trials,  her  hair  gray  above  her  temples,  her  eyes  dark- 
rimmed  and/  sunken  somewhat  under  her  dark-arched 
brows,  had  seated  herself  upon  the  opposite  side  of 
the  room,  waiting,  her  own  joy  visible  in  the  silent  il 
lumination  of  her  face.  She,  too,  was  very  happy  in 
her  way;  or  rather,  mildly  contented.  While  almost 
every  woman,  at  one  or  other  period  of  her  life,  ad 
mires  what  is  known  as  a  wicked  young  man,  the 
average  mother  having  a  daughter  about  to  be  mar 
ried  admires  rather  what  is  known  as  a  good  young 
man.  And  Charles  Halsey  was  what  may  be  called 
comprised  within  that  loose  and  indefinite  description, 
not  always  covering  admirable  or  manly  qualities,  but 
in  this  case  serving  very  well. 

"You've  won,  Charley,"  said  Laura  Rawn  at  last. 
"It  is  true  !  Thank  God !" 

For  these  blessings  about  to  be  received,  Mr.  Rawn 
thanked  himself;  Grace  thanked  Charbs;  Charles 
thanked  Grace ;  only  Laura  Rawn  had  nothing  left  to 
thank  excepting  an  impersonal  and  remote  diety. 


THE    HELPMEET  107 

IV 

They  sat  for  a  time  thus  in  the  little  parlor,  amid 
an  abomination  of  desolation  in  black  walnut  horrors, 
tables  done  after  a  French  king  who  must  have  re 
volved  in  his  grave  at  contemplation  thereof,  chairs 
requiring  nice  feats  in  balancing  upon  their  slippery 
haircloth  floors,  a  sofa  of  like  sort,  too  large  for  one, 
yet  not  large  enough  for  two.  There  gazed  down 
upon  their  love — as  though  in  admiration  as  to  love's 
consequences — rows  of  bisque  shepherdesses  and 
china  dogs.  The  Dying  Gaul  also  bent  on  them  a  sad 
dened  gaze.  None  the  less,  in  spite  of  all,  young 
Halsey  shamelessly  maintained  his  position  on  the 
perilous  sofa,  an  arm  around  young  Miss  Rawn's 
waist. 


Laura  Rawn  sat  across  the  room,  something  still 
dangling  from  her  grasp  which  had  been  there  when 
she  met  Halsey  in  the  hall.  Halsey  at  length  caught 
sight  of  this  object.  Glancing  from  the  mother's 
hands  toward  those  of  the  daughter,  Halsey  caught 
up  the  latter,  looking  with  close  scrutiny  at  what  was 
now  to  be  his  own.  He  found  the  ends  of  Grace's 
fingers  blackened  and  rough.  He  glanced  back  again 
to  her  mother's  hands,  worn  with  toil.  The  ends  of 
her  fingers,  also,  grasping  this  loose  something,  were 
blackened  and  rough. 

"No  more  work  for  Grace,"  said  he,  lovingly  tight 
ening  his  clasp  on  the  fingers  in  his  own. 

"But  I  say — "  this  to  Grace —  "what  makes  your 
fingers  so  rough,  dear  ?  I  never  did  notice  that  before." 


io8  JOHN   RAWN 

"You've  not  noticed  anything  for  two  months !"  said 
Grace  chidingly.  "Why,  it's  sewing,  of  course,  that 
does  it.  A  needle  roughens  up  one's  finger  in  spite  of  a 
thimble,  don't  you  know?" 

"You  were  sewing — for  us?"  he  ventured  daringly, 
yet  blushing  as  he  spoke.  "A  girl  has  a  lot  of  sewing 
to  do,  I  suppose — when  she's — getting  ready.  But, 
Grace — I'm  to  have  five  thousand  dollars  a  year !  Five 
thousand!  No  more  sewing  then  for  Grace,  I'm 
thinking." 

"Yes?"  said  Grace,  smiling  in  her  slow  way.  "I 
think  Ma  and  I  would  be  glad  to  believe  we'd  never 
have  to  see  a  needle  again.  She  kept  me  at  it.  You 
see,  Charley,  we've  been  keeping  the  wolf  from  the 
front  door  and  the  kitchen  door,  while  you  and  Father 
were  guarding  the  woodshed." 

"What  do  you  mean?"  Then  suddenly,  "You  don't 
tell  me — you  don't  mean  that — ?  Was  that  what 
made  your  hands  so  rough,  yours  and  Mrs.  Rawn's 
yonder?  What  have  you  got  there,  Mrs.  Rawn — 
something  in  silk?  Oh,  a  pair  of  braces,  eh?  For 
me?  How  nice  of  you." 

Grace  smiled  again.  "I'll  be  jealous  of  Ma.  Shall 
I  go  and  get  my  own  work  to  show  you?" 

"You  mean  for  your  father,  of  course — " 

"Indeed,  no.  Neither  Pa  nor  you  can  afford  silk 
embroidered  braces,  Charles!  I've  done  six  pairs  this 
week,  and  Ma — well  Ma  must  have  done  a  dozen. 
She's  wonderful." 

"But  what  do  you  mean?"  asked  the  young  man, 
still  puzzled.  Grace  said  nothing  further,  but  held  up 
her  blackened  finger-tips  and  looked  him  in  the  eye. 
A  blush  of  comprehension  came  to  his  face. 


THE   HELPMEET  109 

"You  women !"  he  exclaimed.  "You've  worked  as 
hard  as  we  did ;  and  we  didn't  know !" 

"We  had  to  do  something,"  said  Mrs.  Rawn  quietly. 
"I  tried  a  number  of  things.  We  could  earn  practically 
nothing  in  the  sweatshop  work.  Grace  addressed 
envelopes  here  at  home  at  night,  for  a  while — but 
that's  what  every  other  girl  in  all  the  city's  doing,  I 
think.  I  saw  some  of  these  embroidered  things  in  the 
window  of  a  men's  furnishing  shop.  I  went  in  and 
told  the  man  I  could  do  them  as  well  as  that  for 
twenty-five  cents  a  pair.  We've  had  as  much  as  thirty 
cents  for  some  of  our  best  ones.  Why,  dear  me!  I 
hadn't  done  any  work  in  silk  for  years  and  years ;  but 
it  all  came  back.  We  earned  quite  a  bit  here.  It  kept 
the  table." 

"My  God!"  said  Halsey.  "And  I've  been  eating 
here !" 

VI 

"It  was  our  part,"  said  Laura  Rawn.  "It  was  all 
we  could  do.  A  woman  just  has  to  do  the  best  she 
can,  you  know.  Well,  we  helped." 

"A  woman  has  to  do  the  best  she  can,"  repeated 
Laura  Rawn  gently,  seeing  that  this  left  Halsey  awk 
ward.  "If  she's  a  true  woman,  she  tries  to  help.  I 
want  that  Grace  should  always  think  of  it  in  just  that 
way." 

That,  it  seemed,  was  the  foolish  philosophy  of 
Laura  Rawn;  a  philosophy  not  often  written  on  the 
docket  of  divorce  courts,  to  be  sure.  Perhaps  it  is— 
or  once  was — inscribed  on  dockets  elsewhere. 

END  OF   BOOK   ONE 


BOOK    TWO 


CHAPTER  I 


THE  NEW  MR.  RAWN 

SOME  wise  man  has  said  that  a  man  changes  en 
tirely  each  seven  years  of  his  life,  becoming 
wholly  different  in  every  portion,  particle  and  atom  of 
his  bodily  bulk  and  losing  altogether  what  previously 
were  the  elements,  parts,  portions  or  constituent  mole 
cules  which  made  himself.  So  much  as  to  the  phys 
ical  body.  In  respect  of  epochal  changes  in  a  man's 
character  we  may  wholly  approve  the  dictum  of  the 
philosopher,  though  perhaps  not  agreeing  to  any  spe 
cific  seven-years  period.  Thus,  in  the  case  of  John 
Rawn,  the  first  stage  of  his  career,  in  which  he  lived 
without  any  very  great  alteration,  occupied  some  seven 
and  forty  years.  Yet  it  was  a  wholly  different  John 
Rawn  who,  at  forty-eight,  found  himself  seated  at  the 
vast  and  shining  desk  of  the  president  of  the  Inter 
national  Power  Company,  in  the  city  of  Chicago.  The 
past  was  so  far  behind  him  that  he  could  not  with  the 
utmost  mental  striving  reconstruct  the  picture  of  it. 
He  was  a  wholly  new,  distinct  and  different  man.  The 

no 


THE   NEW    MR.    RAWN  in 

old  and  deadly  days  were  gone.  There  never  had  been 
such  a  place  as  Kelly  Row.  Fate  had  performed  its 
miracle.  Here  was  John  Rawn,  where  alone  he  ever 
could  have  belonged — in  a  place  of  power. 

Surrounded  by  a  delicious  sense  of  his  own  fitness 
and  competence,  smug,  urbane,  well-clad,  basking  in 
the  balmy  glow  of  his  own  glory,  exulting  in  his  own 
proved  ability  to  conquer  fate,  John  Rawn,  on  his  first 
day  as  chief  executive  of  the  International  Power 
Company,  paused  for  a  time  and  leaned  back  in  his 
chair,  giving  himself  over  to  luxurious  imaginings. 


II 

There  is  no  peculiar  delight  in  owning  power  unless 
one  may  exercise  that  power.  There  being  no  dog 
present  which  he  might  kick  out  of  the  way,  John 
Rawn  essayed  other  divertisements.  The  harness  of 
business  system  was  still  rather  new  to  him,  at  least 
the  harness  which  pertains  to  this  stage  of  a  business 
system.  He  was  happily  unaware  that  he  was  a  lay 
figure  here,  with  few  actual  duties  beyond  those  of 
looking  impressive — happily  ignorant  that  shrewder 
and  more  skilled  minds  than  his  had  seen  to  it  that 
his  official  duties  should  be  few  and  well  hedged  about. 
He  had  not  as  yet  ever  worked  at  a  desk  blessed  with 
a  row  of  push  buttons,  and  was  ignorant  as  yet,  and 
very  naturally,  in  regard  to  the  particular  function  of 
each  of  these  several  buttons  whose  mother  of  pearl 
faces  now  confronted  him.  Resolving  to  take  them 
seriatim,  he  pushed  the  one  farthest  to  the  right; 
which,  as  it  chanced,  was  the  one  arranged  to  call  to 
him  his  personal  stenographer. 


ii2  JOHN   RAWN 

The  door  opened  silently.  John  Rawn,  looked  up 
and  saw  standing  before  him  a  young  woman  whom 
he  had  never  seen  before.  "I  beg  pardon,  Madam," 
said  he,  half  rising.  "I  didn't  know  you  were  there. 
How  did — is  there  anything  I  can  do  for  you?" 

"I  am  the  stenographer  assigned  for  your  work, 
Mr.  Rawn,  until  you  shall  have  concluded  your  own  ar 
rangements  in  the  office,"  answered  the  young  woman. 
Her  voice  was  even  and  well  controlled,  her  enuncia 
tion  perfect.  She  was  not  in  the  least  confused  over 
this  contre-tetnps,  else  had  the  self-restraint  not  to  no 
tice  it.  She  stood  easily,  note-book  in  hand,  with  no 
fidgeting,  in  such  fashion  that  one  must  at  once  have 
classified  her  as  a  well-poised  human  being. 

Or,  again,  one  might  have  said  that  here  was  a 
very  beautiful  human  creature.  She  was  almost  tall, 
certainly  and  wholly  shapely;  young,  but  fully  and 
adequately  feminine;  womanly  indeed  in  every  well 
curved  line.  Her  hands  and  feet,  her  arms — the  latter 
now  disclosed  by  half  sleeves — all  were  of  good  model 
ing.  Her  hair,  piled  up  in  rather  high  Grecian  coiffure 
and  confined  by  a  bandeau  of  gold-brocaded  ribbon,  was 
perhaps  just  in  the  least  startling.  But  you  might  not 
have  noticed  that  with  disapproval  had  you  seen  the 
shining  excellence  of  the  hair  itself,  brown,  either 
dark  or  blonde  as  the  light  had  it.  Her  forehead  was 
oval,  her  chin  also  oval,  the  curve  of  the  cheek  running 
gently  into  the  chin  like  the  bow  moulding  of  a  racing 
yacht.  Her  teeth  were  even  and  brilliant,  her  lips  well 
colored,  her  eyes  large  and  just  a  trifle  full,  with  thin 
lids,  and  in  color  blue ;  as  you  might  have  said  with 
hesitation,  just  as  you  might  have  been  uncertain  re 
garding  the  blondness  of  her  hair.  Over  the  eyes 


THE    NEW    MR.    RAWN  513 

the  brows  were  straight,  brown,  well-defined.  Her 
nose — since  one  must  particularize  in  all  such  intimate 
matters — was  a  trifle  thin,  high  in  the  bridge;  thus 
completing  what  lacked,  if  anything,  to  convey  the 
aspect  of  a  woman  aristocratic,  reserved  and  dignified. 


in 


Virginia  Delaware,  Mr.  Rawn's  personal  stenog 
rapher,  was  born  the  daughter  of  a  St.  Louis  baker. 
She  had,  however,  passed  through  that  epoch  of  her 
development  and  by  some  means  best  known  to  her 
self  and  her  family,  had  attained  a  good  education, 
ended  by  three  years  in  a  young  ladies'  finishing  school 
in  the  East.  By  what  process  of  reasoning  she  had  con 
sidered  that  this  was  the  proper  field  for  her  ambitions, 
is  something  which  need  not  concern  us.  She  was 
here;  and  as  she  stood  thus,  easy,  beautiful,  compe 
tent,  she  was  as  much  a  new  and  different  Virginia 
Delaware  from  the  Virginia  Delaware  of  seven  years' 
earlier  date  as  was  this  new  John  Rawn  different 
from  the  old.  The  world  moves.  Especially  as  to 
American  girls  does  it  move. 

"I  am  the  stenographer  assigned  to  you,  Mr.  Rawn, 
until  you  shall  have  concluded  your  own  arrange 
ments."  She  spoke  very  quietly.  Rawn  recovered  him 
self  quickly. 

"I  was  just  about  to  say,"  he  went  on,  "that  I  in 
tended  to  have  the  boy  get  my  car  ready.  Would  you 
tell  him  to  have  it  at  the  door  in  fifteen  minutes  ?  Then 
come  back.  There  are  one  or  two  little  letters." 

A  few  moments  later  the  young  woman  was  seated 


ii4  JOHN   RAWN 

at  a  small  table  near  the  end  of  the  desk.  Without 
any  nervousness  she  awaited  his  pleasure. 

"I'll  trouble  you  for  that  newspaper,  if  you  don't 
mind,  Miss — ?" 

"Miss  Delaware." 

"Yes,  Miss  Delaware.    Thank  you !" 

He  glanced  down  the  columns  of  the  market  reports. 
"Take  this,"  he  said,  turning  to  the  young  woman. 

"Chandler  and  Brown,  Brokers,  City.  Dear  Sirs: 
Sell  me  two  hundred  Triangle  Rubber  at  three  forty. 
Yours  truly." 

She  was  up  with  him  before  he  had  finished  his 
first  official  act.  He  turned  again : 

"Kitter,  Moultrie  &  Johnson,  Bakersfield,  California. 
Gents :  Cinch  all  the  Guatemala  shares  you  can  at  eight 
cents  and  draw  on  me  if  you  need  any  money.  Yours 
truly." 

Mr.  Rawn  could  not  think  of  anything  else.  Few 
details  had  been  allowed  to  reach  his  desk.  He  was 
the  last  sieve  in  a  really  well-arranged  series  of  busi 
ness  screens.  But  even  in  this  brief  test  he  had  a  feel 
ing  that  the  new  stenographer  would  prove  efficient. 
In  three  or  four  minutes  more  he  was  yet  better  as 
sured  of  that  fact;  for  before  he  could  find  his  coat 
and  hat  she  entered  gently  and  laid  the  completed  let 
ters  on  his  desk; 

"Messrs.  Chandler  and  Brown,  723  Exchange 
Building,  Chicago:  Gentlemen:  Please  sell  for  my 
account  two  hundred  (200)  shares  Triangle  Rubber, 


THE   NEW    MR.    RAWN  115 

at  three  hundred  and  forty  dollars  ($340)  or  the  mar 
ket,  obliging,  Yours  very  truly/ 

"Messrs  Kitter,  Moultrie  &  Johnson,  Bakersfield, 
California.  Gentlemen:  Please  buy  for  my  account 
all  the  Guatemala  Oil  which  you  can  pick  up  at  eight 
cents  (8c).  You  are  at  liberty  to  draw  on  me  as  you 
require  funds.  Allow  two  points  margin.  Yours  very 
truly." 

"Very  good,"  said  Mr.  Rawn.  A  slight  perspiration 
stood  on  his  forehead.  The  young  woman  silently  dis 
appeared.  "Two  points !"  said  Mr.  Rawn.  "By  Jove !" 


IV 

Mr.  Rawri  remained  well  assured  of  several  things. 
First,  that  he  was  going  to  make  sixty-eight  thousand 
dollars  out  of  the  Triangle  Rubber  shares,  which  had 
been  given  him  practically  as  a  present,  or  as  "bonus," 
or  as  tribute,  by  Standley  and  Ackerman  and  their 
friends  at  the  inception  of  the  International'  Power 
Company;  second,  that  he  might  perhaps  make  a 
quarter  of  a  million  out  of  his  inside  knowledge  de 
rived  from  these  same  sources,  regarding  plans  in 
Guatemala  Oil;  third,  that  his  new  stenographer 
seemed  to  have  a  good  head,  and  was  not  apt  to  be 
forward. 

Whereupon,  having  concluded  his  first  wearying 
day's  labor,  Mr.  Rawn  donned  his  well-cut  overcoat 
and  shining  top  hat,  and  with  much  dignity  passed  out 
the  private  door  of  his  office.  The  elevator  was 
crowded  with  common  people,  among  them,  several 
persons  of  the  lower  classes.  Mr.  Rawn  felt  that  the 


ii6  JOHN   RAWN 

president  of  a  great  corporation  like  International 
Power  ought  by  all  rights  to  have  an  .elevator  of  his 
own.  This  conviction  of  the  injustice  wrought  upon 
presidents  was  so  borne  in  upon  him  that,  when  he 
stepped!  up  to  the  long  and  shining  car  which  the 
chauffeur  held  at  the  curb,  his  face  bore  a  severe 
frown  and  his  lower  lip  protruded  somewhat.  Feel 
ing  thus,  he  rebuked  the  chauffeur,  who  touched  his 
hat. 

"You  kept  me  waiting!"  said  John  Rawn,  glow 
ering.  "I  wait  for  no  one." 

The  chauffeur  touched  his  hat  again.  "Very  good, 
sir.  If  you  please,  where  shall  I  drive?" 

"Take  me  to  the  National  Union  Club,"  growled 
Mr.  Rawn.  Already  it  may  easily  be  seen  that  one  of 
Mr.  Rawn's  notions  of  impressing  the  world  with  his 
importance  was  to  be  rude  to  his  servants — a  not  infre 
quent  device  among  our  American  great  folk. 

The  chauffeur  touched  his  hat  once  more  and 
sprang  to  his  seat  after  closing  the  door  of  the  car.  In 
a  few  minutes  Mr.  Rawn  was  deposited  at  the  wide 
stairway  of  one  of  the  most  estimable  clubs  of  the  city ; 
where  his  name  had  been  proposed  by  members  of 
such  standing  in  the  railway  and  industrial  world  that 
the  membership  committee  felt  but  one  course  open 
to  them. 

A  boy  took  his  hat  and  coat,  following  him  presently 
with  a  check  into  a  wide  room,  well  furnished  with 
great  chairs  and  small  tables.  Rawn  stood  somewhat 
hesitant.  He  knew  almost  nobody.  Moreover,  his 
club  frightened  him,  for  it  was  his  first,  and  it  differed 
largely  from  Kelly  Row.  A  fat  man  in  one  group 
gathered  about  a  small  table  recognized  him  and  came 


THE   NEW    MR.    RAWN  .117 

forward  to  shake  his  hand.  "Join  us,  Mr.  Rawn?" 
he  asked.  Some  introductions  followed,  then  another 
question,  relative  to  the  immediate  business  in  hand. 

"You  may  bring  me  a  Rossington,"  said  Mr.  Rawn, 
with  dignity,  "but  please  do  not  have  too  much  orange 
peel  in  it."  He  spread  his  coat  tails  with  perhaps  un 
necessary  wideness  as  he  pushed  back  into  the  great 
chair.  You  or  I  might  not  have  had  precisely  his  air 
in  precisely  these  surroundings,  but  John  Rawn  had 
methods  of  his  own. 

"I've  never  liked  too  much  orange  peel,"  said  he 
gravely,  putting  the  tips  of  his  fingers  together.  "The 
last  time,  I  thought  they  had  just  a  trace  too  much. 
A  suspicion  is  all  I  ever  cared  for." 

They  listened  to  him  with  respect.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  Mr.  Rawn  had  never  tasted  alchoholic  beverages 
of  any  sort  whatever  until  within  the  year  last  past. 
All  the  better  for  his  physique,  as  perhaps  one  might 
have  said  after  a  glance  at  these  pudgier  forms  ad 
jacent  to  him  now.  All  the  better,  too,  for  his  nerves. 
But  it  is  not  always  the  case  that  the  beginner  in 
alcohol  can  drink  less  than  one  of  ancient  acquaint 
ance  therewith;  the  reverse  is  often  true.  In  John 
Rawn's  system  strong  drink  produced  only  a  somber 
glow,  a  confident  enlargement  of  his  belief  in  his  own 
powers.  It  never  brought  levity,  mirth,  flippancy 
into  his  demeanor. 


His  acquaintances  saw  now  in  Mr.  Rawn,  the  last 
member  received  into  their  august  affiliations,  a  man 
of  breeding,  long  used  to  good  things  in  life,  and 


n8  JOHN   RAWN 

trained  to  a  nice  discrimination.  Perhaps  the  fact  that 
he  was  the  new  president  of  the  new  International 
Power  Company,  a  concern  capitalized  at  many  mil 
lions  and  reputed  to  have  one  of  the  best  things  going, 
may  have  brought  added  respect  to  the  attitude  of 
some  of  those  who  sat  about  the  little  table.  Thus, 
one  passed  a  gold  cigarette-box ;  yet  another  proffered 
selections  from  divers  cigars,  of  the  best  the  club 
could  provide;  which  was  held  thereabouts  to  be  the 
best  that  any  club  could  provide. 

"I  was  just  telling  Mason,  here,  when  you  came  in, 
Rawn,"  said  the  large  man  who  had  risen  to  greet 
him,  "that  at  last  it  looks  as  though  that  jumping-jack, 
Roosevelt,  was  down  and  out  for  good.  I  always  said 
he'd  get  his  before  long.  Good  God !  When  you  stop 
to;  think  about  it,  hasn't  he  been  a  menace  to  the 
prosperity  of  this  country?" 

"He  certainly  has  been  the  everlasting  butter-in," 
ventured  a  by-sitter. 

"In  my  belief,"  said  Rawn  solemnly,  "he  hasn't  the 
ghost  of  a  show  for  the  nomination — not  the  ghost  of 
a  show !" 

"Certainly  not,"  assented  the  large  man.  "He's 
been  politically  repudiated  in  his  own  state  and  city 
for  years,  and  now  it's  just  soaking  into  the  heads  of 
western  men  that  he  won't  do.  He's  been  the  Old 
Man  of  the  Sea  on  all  kinds  of  business  development. 
In  my  belief,  half  the  labor  troubles  in  this  country 
are  traceable  to  him — anyhow  to  him  and  the  con 
founded  newspapers  that  keep  stirring  things  up. 
Progress!  If  these  progressives  had  their  way,  I 
reckon  we'd  all  be  progressing  backwards,  that's  where 
we'd  be.  Look  at  all  these  new  men,  too!  It  makes 


THE   NEW    MR.   RAWN  119 

me  sick  to  think  how  our  Senate  is  changing."  He 
spoke  of  "our"  Senate  with  a  fine  proprietary  air. 

"But  there  is  talk  that  Roosevelt'll  run  again,"  said 
another  speaker,  reaching  for  his  second  cocktail. 

"No  chance!"  said  the  large  man,  who  had  had  his 
second.  "This  whole  fool  movement  for  unsettling 
business  is  going  to  come  to  an  end.  There  never  was 
a  time  when  unsuccessful  people  were  not  discon 
tented.  Let  the  people  growl  if  they  like.  They 
haven't  got  any  reason.  Talk's  cheap.  Let  'em  talk." 

"Money  talks  best,"  ventured  John  Rawn  oracu 
larly,  nodding  his  head.  The  others  solemnly  assented 
to  this  very  original  proposition. 

"The  business  of  this  country,"  went  on  the  large 
man,  "has  got  nothing  to  do  with  Teddy's  ten  com 
mandments." 

"I  have  no  doubt,"  said  John  Rawn,  "that  Mr. 
Roosevelt  has,  as  you  say,  been  the  most  disturbing 
cause  in  the  unsettling  of  labor  conditions  all  over  the 
country.  I've  been  following  his  speeches.  He's  al 
ways  putting  out  that  same  old  foolish  doctrine  about 
the  equality  of  mankind — a  doctrine  exploded  long 
ago.  It's  nothing  short  of  criminal  to  talk  that  way 
to  the  lower  classes  to-day — it  only  makes  them  more 
unhappy.  What's  the  use  in  misleading  the  laboring 
man  and  making  him  think  he's  going  to  get  something 
he  can't  get  ?  I  tell  you,  I  believe  that  at  heart  Roose 
velt  is  a  Socialist.  Anyhow,  he's  a  stumbling-block 
to  the  progress  of  this  republic.  Why,  in  our  own 
factory — " 

"You're  right,"  interrupted  the  first  speaker.  "Ab 
solutely  right.  That  sort  of  talk  means  ruin  to  the 
country.  I'd  like  to  know  what  all  the  men  that  make 


120  JOHN   RAWN 

up  these  labor  unions  would  do  if  we  were  to  shut 
down  all  the  mills  and  factories  and  offices — where'd 
they  get  any  place  to  work  if  we  didn't  give  it  to  them  ? 
Yet  they  bite  the  very  hand  that  feeds;  them." 

"It  sometimes  looks  as  though  we'd  lost  almost  the 
whole  season's  work  in  the  Senate,"  gloomily  con 
tributed  another  of  the  group.  "We've  got  the  tariff 
framed  up  to  suit  us,  but  how  long  will  it  last?  Be 
sides,  what's  the  use  of  a  tariff,  if  we're  going  to  have 
strikes  that  practically  are  riots  and  revolutions,  all 
over  the  country?  Our  laboring  men  are  not  willing 
to  work.  That's  the  trouble,  I  tell  you — all  this  fool 
ishness  about  the  brotherhood  of  man.  Oh,  hell !" 

"You  have  precisely  my  attitude,  my  friend,"  said 
John  Rawn,  turning  to  him  gravely.  "Precisely.  I 
have  always  said  so." 


VI 


They  all  nodded  now  gravely  as  they  sipped  their 
second  or  third  cocktails.  Here  and  there  a  face  grew 
more  flushed,  a  tongue  more  fluent.  The  large  man, 
colder  headed,  presently  turned  to  Mr.  Rawn. 

"By  the  way,  Rawn,"  said  he,  "I  hear  it  around 
the  street  all  the  time  that  you've  got  about  the  best 
thing  there  is  going — this  International  Power.  What's 
the  meaning  of  all  this  talk,  anyhow  ?  It's  leaking  out 
that  you're  going  to  revolutionize  the  business  world 
with  all  this  power-producing  scheme  of  yours.  Some 
crazy  newspaper  child  got  lit  up  the  other  day  and 
printed  a  fake  story  about  your  plan  of  running  wires 
from  the  river  over  to  Chicago!  Anything  in  that? 
• — but  of  course  there  isn't." 


THE   NEW   MR.   RAWN  121 

"Not  as  you  state  it,"  said  John  Rawn.  "We  have 
a  very  desirable  proposition,  however,  in  our  belief." 

— "Say  yes!"  broke  in  the  smaller  man  across  the 
table.  "But  it  looks  like  you've  got  the  Ark  of  the 
Covenant  concealed,  you  keep  it  so  close.  None  of  the 
stock  seems  to  get  out.  You  haven't  listed  anything, 
and  nobody  can  guess  within  a  million  dollars  what  a 
share  is  worth." 

"No,"  said  John  Rawn  sententiously,  "you  couldn't. 
I  couldn't,  myself.  I  couldn't  yet  guess  large  enough." 

"But  they  tell  me  it's  reviving  commerce  all  up  and 
down  the  river — in  the  old  towns." 

Mr.  Rawn  nodded  assentingly,  smiling. 

"Newspaper  story  was  that  there  was  going  to  be 
some  fly-by-night,  over-all,  free-for-all  wireless  trans 
mission,  and  all  that!  I  say,  that  was  deuced  good 
market  work,  wasn't  it!  We  all  want  in  on  that  kill 
ing  when  it  comes.  But  how  are  we  going  to  get  in  on 
the  killing  if  there  isn't  any  stock  to  be  had,  and  if  it 
isn't  listed  so  the  public  can  be  got  in  ?" 

"Standley  and  Ackerman  got  the  lion's  share," 
grumbled  the  large  man,  explanatorily. 

"Did  they?"  smiled  John  Rawn,  showing  his  teetK 
a  trifle. 

"Well,  of  course  that's  the  talk — I  don't  know  any 
thing  about  how  the  facts  are.  But  when  the  time 
comes,  let  us  in." 

"Certainly,"  said  Rawn  easily.  "But  we're  not  say 
ing  much  just  yet,  of  course.  Just  beginning." 

"But  now,  was  there  anything  in  that  crazy  fool's 
newspaper  story?" 

"We're  working  on  that  idea,"  Rawn  admitted,  still 
smiling. 


122  JOHN    RAWN 


VII 

They  threw  themselves  back  in  their  chairs  and 
joined  in  a  burst  of  laughter.  "You're  a  wonder, 
Rawn !"  said  the  large  man  admiringly. 

The  second  cocktail  had  served  to  steady  John 
Rawn.  "Why?"  he  inquired  evenly. 

"Why,  according  to  that  story,  every  one  of  us 
manufacturers  would  be  put  out  of  business.  We'd 
literally  have  to  come  and  feed  from  your  hand  when 
we  wanted  power,  according  to  that." 

"It  would  figure  that  way  on  one  basis,"  admitted 
Rawn.  "That  'would  be  something,  wouldn't  it?  Al 
most  rather." 

"Almost  rather!"  repeated  the  small  man.  "I  say, 
that's  pretty  good,  isn't  it?  Well  now,  I'll  tell  you 
what ;  we'd  almost  rather  you'd  let  us  in  on  the  ground 
floor,  m'friend!  No  more  coal  bills,  no  more  walking 
delegates,  no  more  strikes,  no  more  Roosevelt  'n 
LaFol't!  Just  touch  button.  Too  bad,  Rawn,  you 
didn't  go  into  fiction  yourself — it  must  have  been  you 
'nvented  that  newspaper  story,  o'  course." 

"You  have  another  guess,"  said  John  Rawn.  "But 
you  haven't  guessed  big  enough  yet.  I  told  you,  I 
myself  couldn't  guess  big  enough." 

The  large  man  laughed,  reached  into  his  pocket  and 
handed  out  a  bunch  of  keys.  "Take  'em  along,"  said 
he.  "I  might  as  wel)  give  you  the  key  to  my  office, 
also  to  my  home — and  maybe  one  or  two  others." 
Some  smiled  at  this  last  remark. 

"My  keys  against  yours,"  said  John  Rawn  keenly. 
"You  can  take  everything  I've  got  if  the  time  doesn't 
come  when  our  company  will  do  everything  you're 


THE   NEW   MR.   RAWN  123 

laughing  at  now.  But  we're  not  after  our  friends. 
Why  couldn't  we  get  together — and  together  get  the 
public?" 

"Fine !  Now  you  converse,"  smiled  the  large  man. 

"I  don't  deny  I've  got  an  idea  up  my  sleeve,  and 
have  had,"  continued  Rawn.  "I  don't  deny  that  we 
may  make  some  tremendous  changes  in  business 
methods.  When  you  tell  me  we  can't  do  these  things, 
that  my  idea  won't  make  good,  and  all  that,  why,  you 
almost  make  me  talk.  Not  that  I'm  a  talking  man. 
But  International  Power  isn't  after  its  friends. 

"But  I'm  just  starting  home  now,"  he  concluded. 
"I  only  dropped  in  for  a  moment.  We're  just  getting 
things  begun  and  I'm  rushed  day  and  night.  I'm 
rather  a  new  man  here  in  town  as  yet.  But  I'll  see  you 
often." 

"The  central  offices  will  be  here,  then?"  inquired 
the  large  man. 

"Yes,  our  main  headquarters  will  be  here  for  a 
time." 

"Oh,  joy!  I'll  drop  in  some  time  and  have  you  do 
me  up  a  choice  line  of  philosopher's  stones,  so  that  I 
can  turn  things  into  gold.  Why  pay  rent  ?"  The  large 
man  laughed  largely. 

"Oh,  all  right,"  rejoined  Rawn,  also  laughing.  "But 
our  invention  is  not  so  very  wonderful.  The  only 
wonder  is,  that  *t  hasn't  been  thought  of  before. 
Nothing  is  wonderful,  you  know." 

"By  Jove!  I'm  just  going  to  come  in  with  you 
there,"  assented  the  last  speaker,  suddenly  sitting  up 
in  his  chair.  "There  isn't  anything  stranger  in  the 
world  than  things  that  happen  right  along,  every  day. 
Look  here." 


i24  JOHN   RAWN 

He  pulled  out  of  his  waistcoat  pocket  some  blue 
strips  of  paper.  "Tickets  to  the  Aviation  Meet.  Fifty- 
cent  gate.  What  do  you  see?  Why,  you  see  men  do 
ing  what  men  couldn't  have  been  supposed  to  do  a  lit 
tle  while  ago.  It's  easy  now — and  they  do  that — they 
really  fly.  I  tell  you,  fellows,  when  you  get  about  four 
drinks  in  you  and  begin  to  think,  this  ain't  just  the 
world  our  daddies  knew;  and  if  it  ain't,  what  sort  of 
world  is  it  going  to  be  that  our  sons  will  know  ?" 

"Precisely,"  assented  John  Rawn,  with  affability. 
"For  instance,  I'm  going  out  now  to  take  my  car  home. 
Nobody  wonders  at  that.  What  would  we  all  have 
thought  of  such  speed  ten  or  twelve  years  ago  ?  Speed, 
gentlemen,  speed — and  power !  The  man  who  has 
those  has  got  the  world  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand." 
With  a  nod,  half  negligent,  he  turned  away. 


VIII 

"Ave  Casar!"  irreverently  remarked  a  man  with  a 
gray  mustache  as  Rawn  passed  toward  the  cloak  room. 

"He  sets  me  thinking,  just  the  same,"  commented 
the  large  man  grumblingly.  "That  fellow's  a  comer. 
He's  building  him  a  fine  place,  up  the  North  Shore, 
they  tell  me.  His  family  must  have  had  money,  though 
it's  odd,  I  never  heard  of  him  till  just  lately.  Who's 
going  to  pay  for  his  house  ?  Why,  maybe  we  are !" 

"Believe  I'll  go  home  for  dinner  to-night  myself. 
Haven't  been  home  for  three  days,"  yawned  one. 

— "And  nights,"  added  a  smiling  friend. 

"Naturally.  But  let's  have  another  little  drink.  I'm 
telling  you,  fellows,  that  fellow  Rawn  has  got  me 
guessing,  too." 


CHAPTER  II 

GRAYSTONE   HALL 


MR.  Rawn's  long  and  shiny  car  was  waiting  for 
him  when  he  stepped  with  stately  dignity  down 
the  broad  stair  of  the  National  Union  Club.  His 
chauffeur  once  more  touched  his  hat,  as  he  saw  the 
hat  of  Mr.  Rawn,  so  much  taller  and  shinier  than  his 
own. 

Threading  its  path  through  the  crowded  traffic  of 
the  side  streets,  the  car  presently  turned  up  the  long 
northbound  artery  of  the  great  western  city.  Sur 
rounded  by  a  large  and  somewhat  vulgar  throng  of 
similarly  large  and  shiny  cars,  it  floated  on,  steadily, 
almost  silently,  until  most  of  the  noises  and  the  odors 
of  the  city  were  left  behind;  until  at  last  the  blue  of 
the  great  lake  showed  upon  the  right  hand  through 
ranks  of  thin  and  straggling  trees,  supported  by  a  thin 
and  sandy  soil.  Now  appeared  long  rows  of  mansions, 
fronting  on  the  lake,  their  amusingly  narrow  and  in 
adequate  grounds  backing  out  upon  the  dusty  roadway 
with  its  continual  traffic  of  long,  shiny  and  ofttimes 
vulgar  cars.  Miles  of  cars  carried  hundreds  of  men  to 
miles  of  mansions.  In  less  than  an  hour,  from  town 
to  home,  John  Rawn  also  pulled  up  at  the  entrance  to 
his  home.  Speed  limits  are  not  for  such  as  Mr.  Rawn. 

125 


126  JOHN   RAWN 

This  residence,  yet  another  of  these  pretentious 
mansions,  top-heavy  on  its  inadequate  delimitations, 
and  done  by  one  of  the  most  ingenious  architects  to 
be  found  for  money,  was  as  new,  as  hideous,  as  bar 
barous  as  any  that  could  be  found  in  all  that  long  as 
semblage  of  varied  proofs  of  architectural  aberrations. 
It  was  as  new  as  Mr.  Rawn  himself.  The  brick  walks 
were  hardly  yet  firmly  settled,  the  shrubs  were  not  yet 
sure  of  root,  the  crocus  rows  in  the  borders  still  showed 
gaps.  Large  trees,  transplanted  bodily,  still  were  sick 
at  heart  in  their  new  surroundings.  The  gravel  under 
the  new  porte  cochcre  still  was  red  and  unweathered. 
As  to  the  house  itself,  it  combined  Japanese,  Colonial 
and  Elizabethan  architecture  in  nice  modern  propor 
tions,  the  architect  having  been  resolved  to  earn  his 
fee.  Many  who  passed  that  way  turned  and  pointed 
approving  thumbs  at  the  residence  of  Mr.  John  Rawn, 
president  of  the  International  Power  Company,  a  new 
man  who  had  come  in  out  of  the  West,  and  who  evi 
dently  was  possessed  of  wealth  and  taste. 


ii 

Mr.  Rawn  knew  that  many  occupants  of  other  cars 
were  noting  him.  His  dignity  was  perfect  as  he  left 
his  car,  not  noticing  that  the  chauffeur  once  more 
touched  his  hat.  His  dignity  remained  unbroken  as 
he  walked  up  the  Elizabethan  steps,  flanked  by  Japan 
ese  jars,  and  paused  at  the  Colonial  door.  The  door 
swung  open  softly.  His  dignity  was  such  that  he 
scarcely  saw  the  man  who  took  his  coat  and  hat,  and 
who  received  no  greeting  from  his  master.  Calm,  cold 
and  scornful,  as  one  well  used  to  such  surroundings, 


GRAYSTONE   HALL  127 

he  passed  through  the  long  central  halls  and  stood  be 
fore  the  doubly  glazed  French  window  whose  wide 
expanse  fronted  upon  the  lake.  He  came  from  inland 
parts,  and  he  enjoyed  this  lake  view  he  had  bought. 
He  did  not  hear  the  quiet  footfall  which  approached 
over  the  heavy  rug.  Laura  Rawn  needed  to  speak  to 
him  the  second  time. 

"Well,"  said  he,  turning  and  sighing,  "how's  every 
thing?" 

"Very  well,  John." 

"Not  so  bad,  eh?"  He  jerked  a  thumb  to  indicate 
the  lake. 

"It's  grand!"  said  his  wife,  yet  with  no  vast  en 
thusiasm  in  her  tone. 

"I  should  say  it  was  grand!  Anyhow,  there's  noth 
ing  grander  around  Chicago.  There's  not  very  much 
here  in  the  way  of  scenery.  Of  course,  in  New; 
York—" 

"Oh,  don't  let  us  talk  of  New  York,  John." 

"Why?" 

"I  don't  see  how  I  could  stand  anything  bigger  or 
grander  than  this." 

"Stand  anything  more?  Ha-hum!  Well,  that's  just 
about  what  I  expected  you  to  say,  Laura.  Sometimes 
I  wonder  if  there  ever  was  a  man  more  handicapped 
than  I  am.  Look  at  this !  What  have  I  done  for  you  ? 
Why,  I  changed  your  whole  life  for  you,  as  much  as 
though  you'd  died  and  been  born  into  another  world. 
You  couldn't  have  had  all  this  if  it  hadn't  been  for  me. 
You  don't  enjoy  it.  You've  got  no  use  for  it.  I  don't 
set  even  this  for  my  limit.  I've  got  ambition,  and  I'm 
going  up  as  far  as  a  man  can  go  in  this  country.  If 
that  means  New  York,  all  right,  when  the  time  comes, 


128  JOHN   RAWN 

But  what  does  my  wife  say?  'OK,  I  couldn't  stand 
that  r  Stand  it — why,  I  half  believe,  Laura,  you  wish 
you  were  back  in  Kelly  Row  right  now — I  believe 
that's  right  where  you'd  be  this  minute,  if  you  had 
your  choice." 

"I  would,  John;  if  things  could  be  the  way  they 
once  were." 

He  only  growled  as  he  turned  away  petulantly. 

"Of  course  I  want  to  see  you  do  well,  get  ahead, 
John,  as  far  as  ever  you  can  go.  And  of  course  you'd 
never  be  happy  to  go  back  there  again." 

"Happy? — me — Kelly  Row?  You'd  see  John  Rawn 
dead  and  buried  first!  I'd  go  jump  in  the  lake  if  I 
thought  I'd  ever  have  to  live  again  the  way  we  used 
to." 

"I  wonder  how  they  are  doing  back  there  now," 
said  Mrs.  Rawn,  in  spite  of  all,  as  though  musing  with 
herself.  "It's  evening  now,  and  the  men  are  just  com 
ing  home  from  work.  I  wonder  if  Jane  English,  next 
door  to  us,  has  another  baby  this  year.  She  always 
had,  you  know.  And  there's  the  young  woman,  Essie 
Hannigan,  who  always  used  to  wait  on  the  steps  for 
her  husband.  And  the  dogs;  and  the  babies  in  the 
street.  And  the  little  trees  without  very  many  leaves 
on  them — why,  John,  I  can  see  it  all  as  plain  as  if  it 
were  right  here.  This  house  of  ours  here  is  so  grand 
I  can't  understand  it.  How  did  we  get  it,  John  ? — when 
we  worked  so  long,  so  many  years,  and  lived  just  like 
those  others  there?  It  all  came  at  once.  Have  you 
earned  all  this — in  a  year  or  so?  And  how  did  you 
get  it  almost  finished,  before  we  moved  up  here,  while 
we  still  were  living  in  St.  Louis — without  either  of 
us  being  here  to  watch  the  carpenters?" 


GRAYSTONE   HALL  129 

"I  did  it  with  money,  Laura,  that's  how.  If  you 
have  money  you  can  get  anything  done  you  want ;  and 
you  don't  have  to  do  it  with  your  own  hands.  But 
don't  say  'carpenters' — it  was  an  architect  built  this 
house." 

"It  cost  a  lot  of  money !" 

"Not  so  much — I've  not  got  in  over  two  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars  yet,  even  with  most  of  the  fur 
nishings  in." 

"You're  always  joking  nowadays,  John.  Of  course, 
you  haven't  made  that  much." 

"Well,  no ;  that's  a  lot  of  money  to  take  out  of  the 
investments  of  a  beginner.  I  had  to  get  accommodation 
for  three-fourths  of  it." 

"Accommodation  ? — " 

"Well,  mortgage,  then— that's  what  they'd  call  it  in 
Texas  or  Kelly  Row.  I  couldn't  tie  up  all  my  capital 
— that  isn't  business.  But  what  does  it  amount  to? 
My  salary  is  a  hundred  thousand  a  year ;  and  I'm  mak 
ing  more  than  that  on  the  side.  I  didn't  propose  to 
come  up  here,  president  of  the  International  Power 
Company,  and  go  to  living  in  a  six-room  flat.  I  wanted 
a  house.  You  see."  He  swept  a  wide  gesture  again. 

"It's  not  much  like  our  little  seven-room  house  in 
the  brick  block,  is  it,  John  ?" 

"And  you  wish  you  were  back  there?  That's  fine, 
isn't  it  ?  How  can  I  do  things  for  you  if  that's  the  way 
you  feel?  You've  never  got  into  the  game  with  me, 
Laura, — you've  never  helped  me ;  I've  had  to  do  it  all. 
Yet  look  what  I've  done  in  the  last  two  or  three  years !" 

"Yes,  John,  I  know  I  couldn't  do  much." 

"You  didn't  do  anything!  You  don't  do  anything 
now !  You  don't  try  to  go  forward,  you  never  did  try, 


130  JOHN   RAWN 

,/ 

you  always  hung  back!  You've  always  thought  of 
your  own  selfish  pleasure,  Laura,  and  that's  the  trou 
ble  with  you.  A  man  busy  all  day  with  large  matters, 
who  comes  home  tired  and  worn  out,  looks  for  a  little 
help  when  he  gets  home.  What  do  I  hear?  'I  wish  I 
was  back  in  Kelly  Row!'  Fine,  isn't  it?  I'll  bet  you 
a  million  dollars  there  isn't  another  woman  in  Chicago 
that  would  feel  the  way  you  do.  You  ought  at  least 
to  have  some  sense  of  gratitude,  it  seems  to  me." 


in 

Grieved  at  the  injustice  of  life,  Mr.  Rawn  turned 
his  troubled  face  and  gazed  out  over  the  unexpressive 
expanse  of  water.  Laura  Rawn  said  nothing  at  the 
time,  being  a  woman  of  large  self-control.  At  length 
she  laid  a  gentle  hand  upon  her  husband's  shoulder. 

"Why,  John/'  said  she,  "I'd  go  to  New  York,  if  it 
was  for  the  best.  You  ought  to  know  that  I  have  your 
interests  at  heart — really,  you  ought  to  know  that, 
John.  I  don't  want  to  hinder  you,  not  the  least  in  the 
world,  John." 

"But  you  do  hinder  me.  You  make  me  feel  as 
though  you  were  not  in  the  game  with  me,  that  you 
were  holding  back  all  the  time.  I'm  going  a  fast  gait. 
I'm  a  rising  man ;  but  you  ought  to  be  in  my  company. 
A  man  doesn't  like  to  feel  that  he's  all  alone  in  the 
world !" 

"Why,  John!  Why,  John!" 

But  he  never  caught  the  poignant  anguish  of  her 
tone.  "Why  don't  people  come  here  to  see  you  ?"  he  de 
manded.  "It's  like  a  morgue.  And  by  the  time  this 


GRAYSTONE   HALL  131 

place  is  done  it'll  cost  pretty  near  another  quarter  of 
a  million." 

"John!"  she  gasped.  "Where  will  you  get  it?" 
He  turned  and  waved  at  her  an  aggressive  finger. 
"I  made  it !"  said  he,  "and  I'll  make  it.  I  made  a  clean 
sixty-eight  thousand  dollars,  to-day,  with  a  turn  of  my 
wrist.  I'll  make  the  price  of  this  house  in  another  two 
years,  if  all  goes  well.  When  it  starts,  it  comes  fast. 
There's  nothing  grows  like  money.  It  rolls  up  like  a 
snowball — for  a  few  men;  and  I'm  one  of  the  few! 
It's  easy  picking  for  strong  men  in  the  business  world 
of  America  to-day — the  game's  framed  up  for  them, 
when  they  get  in.  And  one  of  these  days  I'm  going 
in  further.  We'll  see  a  life  which  will  make  all 
this" —  he  swept  a  wide  hand  about  him — "look  like 
thirty  cents."  His  pendulous  lower  lip  trembled  in 
emotion,  precisely  as  might  that  of  his  father  have 
trembled  when  he  addressed  assembled  and  unrepent 
ant  gatherings  of  sinners. 

"Well,  John,"  said  Laura  Rawn,  dropping  into  a 
chair  and  crossing  her  hands  in  her  lap,  "you've  done 
a  lot  for  me,  that's  sure,  more  than  I  have  had  any 
right  in  the  world  to  expect.  I  can't  do  much.  I'm 
only  going  to  try  just  all  I  can  to  keep  up  with  you. 
But  now  let's  not  bother  or  worry  any  more  about 
things.  Supper  is  just  about  ready." 

"Dinner,  you  mean.  Dinner,  Mrs.  Rawn !" 
She  flushed  a  trifle.  "As  I  meant,  dinner,  yes.  You'll 
have  time  to  dress  for  dinner,  if  you  like,  but  I  wish 
you  wouldn't,  John.  I  don't  mean  to.  The  truth  is,  I 
had  the  cook  make  to-night  something  you  used  to  be 
very  fond  of  in  the  old  days — a  pot  roast — shoulder 


i32  •    JOHN   RAWN 

of  pork  with"  cabbage.  Somehow,  it  seemed  to  me  that 
we  wouldn't  want  to  dress  up  just  for  that,  John." 

"My  God,  no!"  The  suffering  John  Rawn  fell  into 
a  chair  and  dropped  his  face  between  his  hands,  shak 
ing  his  head  from  side  to  side. 

"Isn't  it  all  right,  John?"  she  asked  anxiously. 
"What  else  should  I  get?" 

"Leave  it  to  the  cook,  Laura — I  mean  the  chef. 
That's  what  he's  paid  for.  Is  there  anything  too  good 
for  us?" 

"Not  for  you,  John.  But  I  sometimes  think,"  she 
went  on  slowly  after  a  while,  "that  I'm  not  entitled  to 
so  much  as  we  have,  when  others  have  so  little — the 
same  sort  of  people  that  we  once  were.  I  don't  under 
stand  it.  I  don't  see  where  we  earned  it.  Why,  back 
there  where  we  came  from,  life  is  very  likely  just  as 
hard  as  it  ever  was." 

"Haven't  earned  it !"  gasped  John  Rawn — "I  haven't 
earned  it  ?  Well,  listen  at  that,  to  my  face !  Well,  I'd 
like  to  ask  you,  Laura,  if  I  haven't  earned  this,  what 
man  ever  did  earn  his  money?" 

"Don't  take  me  wrong,  John  dear.  I  was  just  won 
dering  how  anybody  could  ever  earn  so  much." 

"Well,  don't  get  the  habit  of  wondering." 

"I  like  my  things,"  said  she  softly,  gazing  about  her. 
"I've  always  wanted  nice  things,  of  course.  I  never 
thought  we'd  have  a  place  like  this.  Then  the  trees, 
and  the  lake — why,  it's  like  fairyland  to  me !" 


IV 

But  Rawn  turned  a  discontented  face  around  at  the 
ill-assorted  furnishings  of  Graystone  Hall — as  he  had 


GRAYSTONE   HALL  133 

named  his  quasi-country  place.  As  in  the  case  of  the 
architect,  the  house  decorator  and  furnisher  had  had 
full  license,  and  each  had  done  his  worst. 

"Somehow  these  things  don't  seem  just  the  way  they 
are  down  at  the  club!"  he  grumbled.  "I've  been  at 
other  houses  along  in  here,  once  in  a  while,  and  some 
how  our  things  don't  seem  just  like  theirs.  It's  not  my 
fault.  Surely  you  must  see  how  busy  I  am  all  the  time 
— I've  not  got  the  time  to  take  care  of  household  mat 
ters,  too." 

i  He  got  up  and  took  a  turn  or  so  about,  gazing  with 
dissatisfaction  at  his  household  goods.  "They  tell  me 
that  J.  Pierpont  Morgan  picks  up  what  they  call  col 
lector's  pieces.  I've  heard  that  lots  of  the  big  men 
have  in  their  houses  these  collector's  pieces.  .We've 
got  to  have  some  of  them  here.  It  won't  do  to  have 
them  say  of  us  that  we're  anything  back  of  Morgan  or 
anybody  else.  If  they  think  that  of  me,  they  don't 
know  John  Rawn." 

"Dinner  is  served,  Mrs.  Rawn,"  said  a  low  voice  at 
the  farther  side  of  the  room.  The  butler  stood  respect 
ful,  at  attention. 

"Mrs.  Rawn!"  grumbled  the  master  of  the  place. 
"I'll  train  him  different!  Why  don't  he  tell  me?" 

They  passed  into  the  wide  dining-room,  the  butler 
now  silently  drawing  together  the  double  curtains 
which  covered  the  windows  fronting  the  lake.  Rawn 
seated  himself  frowningly  at  the  table,  with  the  cus 
tomary  grumbling  comment  which  he  used  to  conceal 
his  own  lack  of  ease.  In  truth,  he  had  never  yet  en 
joyed  a  meal  in  his  great  house,  and  would  at  this  mo 
ment  have  been  far  more  comfortable  in  his  shirt 
sleeves  at  the  little  table  in  Kelly  Row,  with  the  near- 


134  JOHN   RAWN 

est  butler  a  thousand  miles  away  for  all  of  him.  The 
presence  of  this  shaven,  priest-like  personage  behind 
him  always  sent  a  chill  up  his  spine.  He  half  jumped 
now  as  that  icy  individual  coughed  at  his  side,  poured 
a  little  wine  into  his  first  glass,  and  passed  on  to  Mrs. 
Rawn.  Laura  Rawn  declined,  as  was  her  custom,  and 
the  butler  turned  to  fill  his  master's  glass. 

"You  ought  to  drink  wine,  Laura,"  said  the  owner 
of  Graystone  Hall,  regardless  of  the  butler's  presence. 
"Practically  all  the  women  do,  I  notice.  Some  smoke — • 
cigarettes,  I  mean ;  not  a  corn-cob  pipe.  But  then — "  he 
raised  his  own  glass  and  drained  it  at  a  gulp.  The 
butler  filled  it  again,  and  passed  silently  in  quest  of  the 
beginnings  of  the  banquet  whose  piece  de  resistance 
had  caused  him  and  the  second  maid  to  exchange  wide 
grimaces  of  mirth  beyond  the  door. 


It  could  not  have  been  called  a  wholly  happy  family 
gathering,  this  at  Graystone  Hall.  Indeed,  it  lacked 
perhaps  three  generations,  possibly  three  aeons,  of  be 
ing  happy. 

With  little  more  speech  after  the  evening  meal  than 
they  had  had  before,  an  hour,  perhaps,  was  passed 
in  the  room  which  the  architect  called  the  library,  Mrs. 
Rawn  called  the  parlor,  and  Mr.  Rawn  called  the  gold 
room.  Then  Laura  Rawn,  as  was  her  wont,  passed  si 
lently  up-stairs  to  her  own  apartments — or  her  bedroom, 
as  she  called  it — widely  removed,  in  the  architect's 
plans,  from  those  of  her  husband.  One  room,  one 
couch,  had  served  for  both  in  Kelly  Row. 

The  gray  lake  throbbed  along  its  shore.  Night  came 


GRAYSTONE   HALL  135 

down  and  softened  the  ragged  outlines  of  the  scrawny 
trees  which  stood  sentinels  along  the  front  of  this  pile 
of  stone  and  steel  and  concrete  and  wood,  which  paid 
men  had  striven  so  hard  to  render  into  lines  of  home- 
likeness.  A  soft  wind  passed,  sighing.  The  lights  of 
Graystone  Hall  went  out,  one  by  one,  while  the  even 
ing  still  was  young. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  COMPETENCIES   OF   MISS   DELAWARE    , 


TWO-THIRDS  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  world 
live  in  that  unreal  atmosphere  best  described  by 
the  vulgar  word  of  "bluff."  About  one-half  the  other 
third  know  that  fact.  The  first  two-thirds,  not  being 
able  to  determine  which  that  latter  half  may  be,  ex 
ist  in  continual  fear  that  they  may  guess  wrongly  in 
these  vulgar  fractions,  and  so  make  pretense  where 
pretense  is  of  no  avail.  Shoddy  fears  nothing  so  much 
as  what  vulgarly  is  called  "the  real  thing;"  but  the 
trouble  with  shoddy,  the  anxiety,  nay,  the  agony  of 
shoddy,  bluff,  pretense,  insincerity,  whatever  you  care 
to  call  it,  lies  largely  in  the  fact  that  shoddy  can  not  al 
ways  tell  when  it  has  been  discovered  to  be  shoddy. 

There  did  not  lack  times  in  John  Rawn's  social  life 
when  he  felt  a  very  considerable  trepidation  regarding 
himself.  He  often  looked  at  the  tall  mansion  houses 
which  he  passed  on  his  daily  journey  to  and  from  his 
home,  and  wondered  whether  the  occupants  of  some 
of  them  did  not  live  a  life  of  which  he  was  ignorant. 
He  wondered  if,  after  all,  there  might  not  be  some 
thing  money  could  not  buy. 

For  instance,  in  regard  to  those  collector's  pieces  of 
which  he  had  heard.  How  could  they  be  distinguished 

136 


COMPETENCIES   OF   MISS   DELAWARE    137 

from  other  and  less  preferred  articles  of  furnishing? 
Since  he  and  his  wife  lacked  judgment  in  such  mat 
ters,  what  was  the  remedy  ?  How  could  he  set  matters 
right  without  discovering  his  own  ignorance  ?  He  was 
like  an  Indian,  ashamed  to  learn. 


ii 

Mr.  Rawn  was  in  an  unusually  abject  mental  state, 
one  morning,  some  months  after  he  had  taken  charge 
of  the  headquarters  offices  of  the  International  Power 
Company.  It  was  not  often  he  had  much  recourse  to 
spleen-venting  beyond  that  of  the  disgruntled  man, 
who  most  frequently  takes  it  out  on  the  minor  office 
force.  By  this  time  he  had  learned  his  battery  of  but 
tons,  and  now  he  pressed  one  after  the  other,  in  order 
that  he  might  express  to  the  entire  personnel  of  the 
office  staff  his  personal  belief  of  their  unfitness  to  ex 
ist,  let  alone  to  execute  business  duties  in  a  concern 
such  as  this. 

He  reserved  one  button  for  the  last — the  one  far 
thest  to  the  right  upon  his  glass-topped  desk.  He  knew 
what  pressure  upon  that  button  would  bring,  and  he 
felt  a  curious  shrinking,  a  timidity,  when  he  reflected 
upon  that  fact.  He  knew  he  could  cause  to  stand  be 
fore  him  a  vision  of  calm,  cool  and  somewhat  superior 
femininity.  In  a  few  short  months  Mr.  Rawn  had 
learned  to  trust,  to  respect  and  to  dread  his  assistant, 
Miss  Virginia  Delaware.  In  fact,  it  occurred  to  him  at 
this  very  moment  that  she  might  perhaps  be  one  of 
that  half  of  the  other  third  who  can  distinguish  be 
tween  pretense  and  the  actual,  between  shoddy  and 
the  valid  article. 


138  JOHN   RAWN 

Yet  though  this  thought  gave  him  a  manner  of 
chill,  there  was  with  it  an  attendant  thought  which 
caused  him  to  glow  with  the  joy  of  power.  By  simply 
dropping  his  ringer,  he,  John  Rawn,  could  summon 
into  his  presence  the  figure  of  a  beautiful  young  wom 
an — a  woman  not  yet  grown  old  and  gray;  a  woman 
of  personal  charm ;  a  woman  calm,  cool  and  superior. 
He  stretched  his  own  large  limbs,  glanced  at  his 
rugged  frame,  his  somewhat  lined  face  in  the  glass 
of  the  cloak-room  door.  He  looked  upon  himself  and 
saw  that  he  was  good ;  as  God  looked  upon  the  world 
when  He  made  it.  He  was  of  belief  that  a  little  gray 
hair  at  the  temples  was  no  such  bar  after  all  in  a  man's 
appearance. 

in 

Rawn  had  lived  a  life  singularly  clean  and  innocent. 
His  youth  had  «been  gawky,  his  manhood  ignorant. 
But  now,  somehow,  somewhere,  deep  in  some  unsus 
pected  corner  of  his  nature,  John  Rawn  felt  glowing 
something  heretofore  unknown  to  him.  He  did  not 
know  what  it  was.  At  times  it  seemed  to  him  he  could 
see  opening  out  before  him  a  new  world  of  wide  and 
inviting  expanses,  a  world  of  warmth  and  light  and 
luxury  and  color;  in  short,  a  world  as  unlike  Kelly 
Row  as  you  may  well  imagine,  inhabited  by  beings 
wholly  different  from  those  obtaining  in  Kelly  Row. 
And  there,  among  all  these,  one.  .  .  .  It  is  to  be  seen,  in 
fact,  that  the  life  of  the  city  began  to  open  before  John 
Rawn.  The  soul  of  the  city  is  woman,  as  it  was  the 
soul  of  Rome.  Rawn  was  learning  what  hitherto  he 
had  small  opportunity  to  learn.  At  times  he  leaned 
back  in  luxurious  realization  of  the  fact  that  he,  John 


COMPETENCIES    OF    MISS    DELAWARE    139 

Rawn,  late  railway  clerk,  but  born  to  the  purple,  could 
by  a  touch  upon  this  certain  plate  of  mother-of-pearl 
call  before  him  in  reality  a  vision  which  sometimes  he 
saw  within  his  mind. 

John  Rawn  reached  out  and  touched  the  last  but 
ton  to  the  right  in  the  row.  She  appeared  before  him 
a  moment  later,  silently,  as  calm,  as  cool,  as  unsmiling 
and  as  dignified  as  was  her  wont.  Not  even  the  quiver 
of  an  eyelid  evinced  concern  as  to  what  her  next  duty 
was  to  be. 

IV 

In  appearance  Virginia  Delaware  might  have  won 
approval  from  a  closer  critic  than  John  Rawn.  Her 
face  really  was  almost  classical  in  its  lines,  her  poise 
and  dignity  now  might  have  been  that  of  some  young, 
clean-limbed  wood-goddess  of  old.  She  always  seemed 
unfit  for  humdrum  duties.  Surely  she  had  won  the 
vast  hatred  of  all  her  associates,  who  had  experienced 
no  raise  of  salaries  whatever,  under  the  new  regime; 
whereas,  it  was  well  known  that  the  president's  secre 
tary  had  had  one,  two,  or  perhaps  several.  These 
others  detested  all  forward  and  superior  persons;  as 
was  their  irreverent  and  wholly  logical  right. 

"We  have  some  letters  this  morning,  Miss  Dela 
ware,"  began  Rawn.  "You  couldn't  quite  take  care  of 
them  all,  eh  ?" 

"We  handled  all  we  could,  Mr.  Rawn.  I  have  re 
ferred  a  large  number  to  proper  department  heads, 
and  answered  quite  a  number.  It  seemed  better  to 
refer  these  for  your  own  action." 

"Business  growing,  eh  ?"  said  Rawn,  turning  around 


140  JOHN   RAWN 

to  his  desk.  The  girl's  reply  was  just  properly  en 
thusiastic  for  the  business: 

"It's  wonderful  the  mail  we  get.  Inquiries  come 
from  all  over  the  country.  Yes,  indeed,  it  seems  to 
grow.  The  idea  goes  like  wildfire.  I  never  knew  any 
thing  like  it.  When  we  really  have  the  installations 
made,  it  will  be  only  a  question  of  administration." 

Venturing  nothing  further,  she  seated  herself  at  her 
table,  book  and  pencil  in  hand,  ready  to  begin.  She 
did  her  work  with  a  mechanical  steadiness  and  lack 
of  personality  which  might  have  classified  her  as  in 
deed  simply  a  cog  in  the  vast  machinery  of  the  Inter 
national  Power  Company.  Rawn  had  gained  facility 
in  his  own  work,  and  had  found  in  himself  a  real  fac 
ulty  for  prompt  decision  and  speedy  handling  of  de 
tail.  He  went  on  now  smoothly,  mechanically,  rapidly, 
almost  forgetful  of  everything  but  the  series  of  prob 
lems  before  him,  and  forgetting  each  of  these  as 
quickly  as  he  took  up  the  other.  He  cast  a  look  of  un 
conscious  admiration  of  the  girl's  efficiency  when  at 
last,  finishing,  he  found  her  also  finished  with  her  part, 
and  without  having  caused  him  delay  or  interruption. 
With  no  comment  now,  she  took  up  the  finished  let 
ters  which  had  been  left  for  his  signature.  Standing 
at  his  side,  she  literally  fed  them  through  the  mill  of 
his  desk,  taking  away  one  signed  sheet  as  she  placed 
the  other  before  him,  smoothly,  impersonally,  swiftly. 
The  work  of  the  morning  was  beautiful  in  its  mechani 
cal  aspect. 


The  business  system  of  "International"  was  shaking 
down  into  a  smooth  and  easy-running  efficiency.    At 


COMPETENCIES    OF   MISS   DELAWARE    141 

the  close  of  this  work,  Miss  Delaware  remained  wholly 
unruffled.  Turning  toward  her  at  last,  John  Rawn  felt 
that  curious  old  feeling,  half  made  up  of  chilling  trepi 
dation,  half  of  something  quite  different.  There 
seemed  to  be  something  upon  his  mind,  some  business 
still  unfinished. 

"I  was  about  to  say,  Miss  Delaware,"  he  began  at 
length,  "that  I  am,  as  you  know,  a  very  busy  man." 

"Yes,  sir,"  she  said,  evenly  and  impersonally. 

"I  have  so  many  things  to  do,  you  see,  that  I  don't 
get  much  time  to  attend  to  little  things  outside  of  my 
business.  A  man's  business  is  a  millstone  around  his 
neck,  Miss  Delaware.  We  men  of — ahem ! — of  affairs 
are  little  better  than  slaves." 

"Yes,  Mr.  Rawn,"  she  said  gently.  "I  can  under 
stand  that." 

"For  instance,  I  don't  even  know,  as  long  as  I 
have  been  here  in  Chicago,  the  names  of  the  best  firms 
of  decorators,  house  furnishers,  that  sort  of  thing — " 

"Doesn't  Mrs.  Rawn  get  about  very  much,  sir?" 

"Mrs.  Rawn  unfortunately  is  not  very  well.  Also  she 
has  the  habit  of  delaying  in  such  matters.  Then,  as  I 
don't  myself  have  the  time  to  take  care  of  everything — 
why,  you  see — " 

Her  eyebrows  were  a  trifle  raised  by  now. 

— "So  I  was  just  wondering  whether  I  couldn't  avail 
myself  of  your — your — very  possible  knowledge  of 
these  stores — shops,  I  mean." 

"Oh,  very  well.  Yes,  sir.  But  I  don't  quite  under 
stand—" 

"Well,  I  want  to  pick  up  some  collector's  pieces  for 
my  home,  you  see." 

"Good  pieces  ?  Yes,  sir.  Of  wliat  sort  ?" 


142  JOHN    RAWN 

"Why,  furniture — or — yes — some  china  stuff,  I  sup 
pose.  Maybe — er — some  pictures." 

"I  see.  You've  not  quite  finished  the  decorations  of 
your  new  home,  Graystone  Hall." 

"Oh,  you  know  the  place?" 

"Every  one  knows  it,  Mr.  Rawn.  It  is  very  beauti 
ful." 

"It  ought  to  be  beautiful  inside  and  out.  To  be  brief 
about  it,  I  know  I  oughtn't  to  ask  an  assistant  who  is 
only  receiving  forty-five  dollars  a  week  salary  to  act 
as  expert  for  me  in  house  decoration  matters — that's 
entirely  outside  your  business,  Miss  Delaware.  At  the 
same  time — "  Miss  Delaware  checked  herself  just  in 
time  not  to  mention  the  salary  figure  which  Mr.  Rawn 
had  stated.  If  her  oval  cheek  flushed  a  trifle,  her  long 
lashes  did  not  flicker.  This  was  ten  dollars  a  week 
more.  She  had  herself  never  once  mentioned  the  mat 
ter  of  salary. 

VI 

"Of  course,  Mr.  Rawn,  I'd  be  willing  to  do  any 
thing  I  could,"  she  said.  "I  know  the  city  pretty  well, 
having  lived  here  for  some  time.  If  you  would  rather 
have  me  use  my  time  in  that  way,  it  would  be  a  great 
pleasure.  I  like  nice  things  myself,  though  of  course 
I  could  never  have  them.  I've  just  had  to  flatten  my 
nose  against  the  window-pane!"  She  laughed,  a  low 
and  even  little  burst  of  laughter,  rippling;  the  most 
personal  thing  she  ever  had  been  guilty  of  doing  in 
the  office — then  checked  herself,  colored,  and  resumed 
her  perfect  calm. 

"Never  mind  about  your  other  duties.    Take  any 


COMPETENCIES    OF    MISS    DELAWARE     143 

time  you  like.  Go  see  what  you  can  find  me  in  this 
town." 

"As  in  what  particular?" 

"Well,  take  china.  I  shouldn't  mind  having  some 
ornamental  jars,  vases — that  sort  of  thing,  you  know." 

"China's  difficult,  Mr.  Rawn — one  of  the  most  diffi 
cult  things  into  which  one  can  go.  There's  a  terrible 
range  in  it,  you  see.  It  can  be  cheap  or  very  expensive, 
very  grotesque  or  very  beautiful.  There  are  not  many 
who  know  china.  I  suppose  we  mean  porcelains  ?" 

"Yes,  I  know.  But  what  would  you  suggest,  for 
instance,  for  my  large  central  room,  which  opens  out 
upon  the  lake?" 

"What  is  the  color  scheme,  Mr.  Rawn?" 

"About  everything  the  confounded  builders  and 
decorators  could  think  of,"  said  Rawn  frankly.  "I 
think  they  called  it  a  gray-and-silver  motive.  I  know 
there's  something  in  white,  with  dark  red  for  the 
doors  and  facings." 

Miss  Delaware  sat  for  a  moment,  a  pencil  against 
her  lip,  engaged  in  thought. 

"Well,"  said  she  at  length,  "I'm  sure  almost  any  of 
the  good  houses  would  send  you  up  what  you  liked. 
There's  everything  in  accord.  You  don't  want  any 
thing  that  will  'swear,'  as  the  phrase  goes.  If  I  were 
in  your  place,  I  would  select  a  few  really  good  pieces, 
and  try  them  in  place,  in  the  rooms." 

"Yes,  yes!  But  where'll  I  get  them?  How  will  I 
find  them?  That's  why— " 

"Mr.  Rawn,  there  is  really  only  one  good  selection 
in  Oriental  porcelains  in  town  to-day.  The  large  shops 
have  their  art  rooms,  of  course,  but  they're  horrible, 


144  JOHN   RAWN 

for  the  most  part,  although  most  of  our  'best  people' 
buy  there — because  they're  fashionable.  There's  a  lit 
tle  man  on  street.  I  just  happened  to  see  the 

things  in  his  window  as  I  went  by  one  day.  He  has 
some  beautiful  pieces." 

"And  beautiful  prices?" 

"Much  higher  than  you  would  need  to  pay  at  any 
of  the  larger  places,  because  these  are  genuine.  None 
of  them  ever  had  such  pieces  as  these — they  wouldn't 
know  them  when  they  saw  them.  You  must  remember, 
Mr.  Rawn,  that  if  a  piece  of  porcelain  were  only  worth 
two  dollars  a  thousand  years  ago,  and  it  was  one,  say, 
of  a  thousand  others  just  like  it  at  that  time,  the  loss 
by  breakage  of  the  other  duplicates,  and  the  lowest 
kind  of  compound  interest  from  then  till  now,  would 
warrant  almost  any  sort  of  price  you'd  care  to  put  on 
a  real  work  of  art — one  that  has  come  down  from  so 
long  a  time  ago." 

"You've  got  a  good  business  head !  You  know  the 
value  of  interest,  and  few  women  do.  Now,  all  I  want 
to  know  is,  that  I'm  not  being  done.  I  don't  so  much 
care  about  the  price.  But  has  this  man  anything  in 
the  real  goods,  and  if  so,  what  would  you  suggest  ?" 


VII 

Miss  Delaware's  answer  might  have  proved  a  trifle 
disconcerting,  even  to  one  more  critically  versed  than 
her  -employer.  "In  my  own  taste,  Mr.  Rawn,"  she 
said  judicially,  "there  is  nothing  in  the  world  so  beau 
tiful  as  some  of  the  old  Chinese  monochromes.  They 
come  sometimes  in  the  most  beautiful  pale  colors. 
There  is  the  claire  de  tune,  for  instance — this  little 


COMPETENCIES   OF   MISS   DELAWARE    145 

man  has  some  perfectly  wonderful  specimens,  three  or 
four,  I  think;  one  good-sized  jar.  These  pale  blues 
grow  on  you.  They  don't  seem  so  absolutely  stunning 
at  first,  but  they'll  go  anywhere;  and  they  are  beyond 
reproach  in  decoration.  The  pieces  I  saw  are  of  the 
Sung  dynasty ;  so  they  can't  have  been  made  later  than 
1300.  They  came  from  U-Chon,  in  the  Honan  prov 
ince.  I  thought  them  very  fine,  and  from  my  acquaint 
ance  with  porcelains,  I  believe  them  to  be  genuine 
pieces." 

"I  know,"  said  Rawn — he  was  perspiring  rather 
freely — "But  I  confess  I  never  was  very  much  in  love 
with  Chinese  art." 

"But  we  owe  so  much  to  it,  Mr.  Rawn,"  she  said 
with  gentle  enthusiasm.  "We  learned  all  we  know  of 
underglaze  and  overglaze  from  the  Chinese — the  best 
of  our  old  English  china  was  not  made  in  England, 
but  imported  from  the  Orient,  as  you  know.  Chippen 
dale  got  many  of  his  own  ideas  in  furniture  decora 
tions  from  the  Chinese,  and  so  did  the  French — why, 
you'll  see  Parisian  bronzes,  ever  so  old,  and  you 
couldn't  tell  whether  they  were  made  in  France  or 
China.  And  old!  The  man  at  this  little  shop  has  one 
piece  which  he  says  certainly  was  made  before  the 
Christian  era.  If  I  were  in  your  place,  however,  I 
would  adhere,  say,  to  the  Ming  dynasty.  Then  you'll 
get  as  low  as  1644." 

"You  mean  apiece?" 

"Oh,  no,  sir,"  she  said  gently,  not  smiling  at  his 
mistake.  "I  mean,  the  Ming  dynasty  ended  in  the  year 
1644." 

"Of  course — you  didn't  understand  me."  Mr.  Rawn 
perspired  yet  more. 


146  JOHN    RAWN 


VIII 

"No — well,  at  least  you'll  find  some  good  jars  and 
vases  of  that  period,"  continued  Miss  Delaware.  "For 
instance,  the  Ching  period  of  that  dynasty  is  very  rich 
in  the  famille-verte,  as  the  French  describe  it — some 
splendid  apple-greens  can  be  had  in  this.  Then  there's 
one  piece  of  that  same  period,  I  believe,  of  the  famille- 
rose.  It's  a  wonderful  thing  in  egg  shell  porcelain,  and 
I  don't  believe  its  like  can  be  found  to-day  in  all  the 
Lake  Shore  Drive — or  even  Drexel  Boulevard ;  and 
say  what  you  like,  Mr.  Rawn,  there  are  fanciers  there ! 
In  colors  there  is,  nothing  to  equal  some  of  these  fine 
old  pieces.  I  wouldn't,  of  course,  suggest  the  bizarre 
and  striking  ones,  but  I'd  keep  down  to  the  quiet  and 
solid  colors,  of  some  of  the  old  and  estimable  periods. 
I  don't  know  much  about  art,  of  course,  but  I've  just 
happened  to  study  a  little  bit  into  the  old  porcelains. 
I'd  like  to  buy  a  few — for  somebody!  I  couldn't  go 
very  far  myself — when  they  come  at  a  couple  of  thou 
sand  dollars  apiece,  for  some  of  the  better  examples !" 

Rawn  did  not  lack  in  gameness,  and  no  muscle  in 
his  face  changed  as  he  nodded. 

"The  main  thing  is  not  to  make  the  wrong  selection, 
Miss  Delaware,"  said  he.  "I  wish  you'd  go  around 
there  to-morrow,  if  you  find  time,  and  see  if  this  man 
will  not  send  up  four  or  five  of  his  better  pieces.  I'll 
pass  on  them  then." 

"You  may  be  sure  of  one  thing,  Mr.  Rawn,"  said 
Miss  Delaware,  nodding  with  emphasis,  "they  will  be 
real  collector's  pieces,  and  any  one  who  knows  about 
them  will  see  what  they  are  worth." 

"All  right,  then.  You'll  be  saving  me  a  lot  of  time 
if  you'll  take  care  of  that,  Miss  Delaware.  Now  an- 


COMPETENCIES    OF   MISS   DELAWARE    147 

other  thing.  As  I  told  you,  Mrs.  Rawn  is  ill  a  great 
deal  of  the  time.  I  want  to  make  her  a  little  present 
— she  must  have — that  is  to  say,  I  am  desirous  of 
sending  her,  for  her  birthday,  you  know,  something 
like  a  ring  or  a  pendant,  in  good  stones.  Could  you 
drop  in  at  Jansen's  and  have  their  man  bring  me  over 
something  this  afternoon — I'll  not  have  time  to  get 
out,  I  fear." 

"Certainly,  Mr.  Rawn.  I'll  be  very  glad,  if  I  can  be 
spared  from  the  office." 

"That's  all,  Miss  Delaware." 

She  passed  out  gently,  impersonally.  Rawn  found 
himself  looking  at  the  door  where  she  had  vanished. 


IX 

It  was  perhaps  an  hour  later  that  he  re-opened  the 
door  himself  in  answer  to  a  knock.  Miss  Delaware 
stood  respectfully  waiting.  "There  is  a  man  from  Jan- 
sen's  waiting  for  you,  Mr.  Rawn,"  said  she. 

"Tell  him  to  come  in,"  said  Rawn.  There  rose  from 
a  near-by  seat  a  gray-haired,  grave  and  slender  man, 
of  sad  demeanor,  who  presently  removed  from  his 
pocket  and  spread  out  upon  the  glass  top  of  John 
Rawn's  desk  such  display  of  gems  as  set  the  whole 
room  aquiver  with  light.  Rawn  felt  his  own  eyes  shine, 
his  own  soul  leap.  There  always  was  something  in 
diamonds  which  spoke  to  him. 

"Ah-hum!"  said  he,  feigning  indifference,  "some 
pretty  good  ones,  eh  ?"  He  poked  around  among  them 
with  the  end  of  his  penholder,  as  the  gray  and  grave 
man  quietly  opened  one  paper  package  after  another, 
and  exposed  his  wares. 

John  Rawn  reached  out  and  pushed  the  button  far- 


148  JOHN   RAWN, 

thest  to  the  right  in  the  long  row  on  his  desk.  Miss 
Delaware  came  and  stood  quietly  awaiting  his  com 
mand. 

Her  eyes  caught,  in  the  next  moment,  the  shiver 
ing  radiance  which  now  flamed  on  the  desk  top,  as 
Rawn  poked  around  among  the  gems  that  lay  under 
the  beams  of  the  westering  sun  which  came  through 
the  window.  Rawn  turned  quickly.  He  thought  he 
had  heard  a  sigh,  a  sob. 

Something  in  the  soul  of  Virginia  Delaware  leaped ! 
For  the  first  time  her  eyes  shone  with  brighter  fire; 
for  the  first  time  she  half-gasped  in  actual  emotion. 
There  was  something  in  diamonds  which  spoke  to  her 
also! 

"Essence  of  power!"  said  John  Rawn  calmly,  pok 
ing  among  the  gems.  The  girl  did  not  answer.  The 
salesman  coughed  gently:  "I  should  say  a  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  dollars  worth  there,  Mr.  Rawn," 
said  he  respectfully. 

The  man  whom  he  addressed  turned  to  the  girl  who 
stood  there,  her  eyes  dilated.  He  half  smiled.  "They're 
lovely!"  said  Virginia  Delaware,  in  spite  of  herself, 
and  now  unmasked.  "Absolutely  lovely !  I  love  them !" 

"Pick  out  two  things  there,"  said  John  Rawn  sen- 
tentiously,  pushing1  himself  back  from  the  desk.  "I 
should  say  this  pendant.  Take  a  guess  at  the  rings. 
What  would  Mrs.  Rawn  like;  and  what  would  about 
suit  Mrs.  Rawn?" 

She  bent  above  the  desk,  her  eyes  aflame  at  the 
sight  of  the  brilliance  that  lay  before  her.  Something 
laughed  up  at  her,  spoke  to  her.  Her  bosom  heaved  a 
bit. 

"I  should  say  your  choice  is  excellent,  Mr.  Rawn," 


COMPETENCIES   OF   MISS   DELAWARE    149 

said  she  at  length,  gently,  controlling  herself.  "The 
pendant  is  beautiful,  set  with  the  emeralds.  See  that 
chain  in  platinum — it  is  a  dear !  It's  like  a  thread1  of 
moonlight,  isn't  it  ?  And  as  for  the  rings,  I'd  take  this 
one,  I  believe,  with  the  two  steel-blue  stones." 

"How  much  ?"  said  John  Rawn,  turning  to  the  grave 
and  gray  salesman. 

"The  two  pieces  would  cost  you  twenty-eight  thou 
sand  dollars,  sir,"  the  latter  replied,  gravely  and  im 
personally. 

"Miss  Delaware,"  said  John  Rawn,  taking  from  his 
pocket  his  personal  check  book,  "oblige  me  by  making 
out  a  check  for  that  amount.  Bring  it  in  to  me  di 
rectly — and  have  the  boy  call  my  car." 


When  John  Rawn  ascended  the  steps  of  his  mansion 
house  that  night,  he  fairly  throbbed  with  the  sense  of 
his  own  self-approval.  There  was  that  in  his  pocket 
which,  he  thought,  when  worn  by  the  wife  of  John 
Rawn  at  any  public  place  of  display,  would  indicate 
what  grade  of  life  he,  John  Rawn,  had  shown  himself 
fit  to  occupy.  He  lost  no  time  in  summoning  his  wife, 
and  with  small  .adieu  put  in  her  extended  hand  the 
little  mass  of  trembling,  shivering  gems.  She  gazed 
at  them  almost  stupefied. 

"Well,  well!"  he  broke  out,  "can't  you  say  any 
thing?  What  about  it?  They're  yours." 

"Oh,  John!"  she  began.  "John!  What  do  you 
mean?  How  could  you — how  could  I — " 

He  flung  out  his  hand  in  a  gesture  of  despair.  "Oh, 
there  you  go  again !  Can't  you  fall  into  line  at  all?" 


150  JOHN   RAWN 

"But  John !  I've  never  done  anything  in  all  my  life 
to  deserve  them,  of  course.  Besides,  I  couldn't  wear 
them — I  really  couldn't — I'd  be  afraid!  And  they 
wouldn't  seem  right — on  me !" 

"You've  got  to  wear  them!"  he  retorted.  "We've 
got  to  go  out  once  in  a  while  if  I'm  to  play  this  game 
— we've  got  to  go  to  shows,  theaters,  operas,  some 
where.  They've  got  to  sit  up  and  say  that  we've  got 
some  class,  Laura,  I'm  telling  you !" 

"But,  John !  How  would  I  look  decked  out  in  things 
like  that  ?  I'm  so  plain,  common,  you  know." 

"That's  not  the  question.  Do  you  know  how  much 
these  cost?" 

"Why,  no — maybe  a  thousand  dollars,  for  all  I 
know !" 

"A  thousand  dollars !"  groaned  Rawn.  "Maybe  they 
did !  Do  you  know  what  I  paid  for  what  you've  got  in 
your  hand,  Laura?  Twenty-eight  thousand  dollars! 
That's  all." 

Impulsively  she  held  out  her  hand  to  him.  "Take 
them  back !"  she  whispered.  "It  isn't  right." 

For  one  moment  he  looked  at  her,  and  she  shrank 
back  from  his  gaze.  But  Rawn's  anger  turned  to  self- 
pity. 

"My  own  wife  won't  wear  my  diamonds,"  said  he. 
"This,  for  a  man  as  ambitious  as  I  am,  and  a  man  who 
has  done  as  much  as  I  have !" 

She  came  now  and  put  her  arms  about  his  neck,  the 
first  time  in  years ;  but  not  in  thankfulness.  She  looked 
straight  into  his  eyes.  "John!"  she  said.  "Oh,  John!" 
There  was  all  of  woman's  anguish  in  her  eyes,  in  her 
voice. 


CHAPTER  IV 

AT   HEADQUARTERS 


THE  International  Power  Company  remained  a 
puzzle  in  suspended  animation  before  the  business 
world.  Its  campaign,  whatever  it  was,  went  on  behind 
closed  doors  and  closed  mouths.  The  men  who  were 
backing  John  Rawn  were  doing  so  with  daring  and 
courage,  yet  with  business  discretion  and  business 
eagerness  for  results.  There  was  no  leak  anywhere, 
but  the  capitalists  who  were  showing  their  faith  in  the 
basic  idea  of  the  company  began  to  grow  impatient  be 
cause  of  the  slow  advancement  of  the  most  important 
of  their  plans;  those  bearing  on  wireless  transmis 
sion  from  the  central  generating  station  on  the  Mis 
sissippi  River. 

Rawn's  duties  at  the  central  offices,  as  president  of 
the  company,  although  steadily  increasing,  were  still 
to  very  large  extent  perfunctory  matters  of  routine; 
but  the  president's  office  evinced  very  early  a  singu 
lar  efficiency  in  executive  affairs.  Rawn's  directors 
looked  on  him  with  mingled  approval  and  cautious 
ness,  coming  almost  to  the  belief  that,  if  the  progress 
of  the  central  distributing  plant,  or  "Wireless  No.  I," 
as  it  was  known  in  the  company's  literature,  did  not 


152  JOHN   RAWN 

seem  all  it  should  be,  at  least  the  president  of  the 
company  was  not  to  blame  therefor.  They  turned  to 
the  department  of  mechanical  installation;  which 
brought  Charles  Halsey  under  investigation. 


II 

Halsey  and  his  wife,  John  Rawn's  daughter,  had 
taken  up  their  residence  in  the  small  Chicago  suburb 
in  which  the  central  plant  had  been  located.  Their 
cottage  was  a  small  one,  and  it  was  furnished  much 
Kke  other  cottages  thereabout,  occupied  by  salaried 
men,  mechanics,  persons  of  no  great  means.  It  re 
tained  something  of  the  complexion  of  the  old  quar 
ters  in  Kelly  Row.  The  furniture  was  of  imitation 
mahogany,  the  pictures  had  been,  for  the  most  part, 
bought  by  mail,  the  decorations  were  a  jumble  of  in 
harmonious  inadvertencies.  The  two  young  folk,  their 
means  as  small  as  their  tastes  were  undeveloped,  gave 
themselves  small  concern  over  architects'  plans  and 
"collectors'  pieces."  They  were  busy  as  are  most  young 
couples  in  the  delights  of  their  first  experiment  in 
housekeeping;  and  Halsey  himself  now  was  deep  in 
the  strong  and  somber  delight  of  developing  a  beloved 
idea. 

Naturally,  Halsey  was  often  taken  to  the  central  of 
fices  in  the  city  for  conferences  with  the  president  of 
the  company.  He  frequently  met  there  Virginia  Dela 
ware,  even  at  times  gave  dictation  to  her — a  thing  he 
never  failed  to  remember,  but  never  remembered  to 
mention  in  his  own  home.  As  do  many  men  even  in  this 
divorceful  age,  he  set  aside  comparisons,  forced  himself 
into  loyalty.  Moreover,  he  yet  was  very  young  in  mar- 


AT  HEADQUARTERS  153 

ried  life,  and  always  Had  lived  in  an  atmosphere  where 
man,  married  or  single,  coveted  not  that  which  was  his 
neighbor's.  It  was  but  unconsciously,  as  though  moved 
only  by  force  of  gravitation,  that  he  drifted  to  Miss 
Delaware  with  his  correspondence.  He  said  to  himself 
that  it  was  because  she  was  so  efficient.  Yes,  that  was 
it,  of  course,  he  assured  himself,  frowning  when,  once 
upon  a  time,  he  detected  a  flush  on  his  face  in  answer  to 
a  sudden  question  of  his  soul.  Thereafter  he  went  not 
infrequently  to  the  general  offices. 


Ill 

On  one  such"  occasion  he  found  himself  in  the  posi 
tion  known  among  salaried  workers  as  being  "called 
upon  the  carpet"  before  "the  old  man."  Rawn  held  a 
letter  in  his  hand  to  which  he  referred  as  he  chided 
Halsey  for  the  delays  in  his  department  of  the  work. 

"Do  you  suppose  I  can  stand  for  this  sort  of  thing 
coming  from  New  York?"  he  began.  "What's  the 
matter  out  there  with  you  ?" 

"Just  what  we  might  expect,"  Halsey  replied  coolly. 
"I've  tried  to  cut  down  the  expenses,  but  the  men 
jwon't  take  the  cut  in  wages." 

"Why  won't  they?" 

Halsey  smiled.  "They  have  a  hundred  answers  for 
that.  One  is,  that  they  can't  live  on  the  wages,  and 
another  is,  that  they  want  the  union  scale." 

"They'll  never  unionize  our  factory,  Mr.  Halsey! 
If  they  did,  we  might  as  well  throw  away  all  our 
money  and  tell  them  our  secret  at  the  start — we'd  be 
working  for  them,  not  they  for  us." 

"That's  all  right,  sir.   I  think,  myself,  an  open  shop 


154  JOHN   RAWN 

is  safer  for  us.  But  the  unions  make  all  sorts  of  dis 
turbances.  I  can't  keep  on  a  steady  crew;  and  unless 
I  do,  I  have  to  start  in  and  educate  a  new  set  of  men 
every  week,  or  every  day ;  and  I  have  to  be  careful 
what  I  let  any  of  them  know.  I  can't  help  it,  Mr. 
Rawn." 

"Well,  we'll  have  to  help  it,  that's  all,"  Rawn  re 
torted  grimly.  "If  the  unions  want  fight  they  can  have 
fight,  until  we  get  to  the  place  where  we  can  take  all 
the  fight  out  of  them.  These  laboring  men  want  to 
stop  the  whole  progress  of  this  country — they're  a 
drag  on  the  industry  of  this  country,  a  continuous  tax 
on  all  consumers.  I'll  show  them !  Once  we  get  those 
motors  installed,  I'll  make  them  crawl" 


IV 

"And  yet,  do  you  know,  Charles,"  he  went  on  a  lit 
tle  later,  his  voice  almost  trembling,  "the  injustice  of 
this  conduct  is  what  cuts  me.  I've  had  it  in  my  mind 
to  do  something  for  the  laboring  men  of  this  country. 
Of  course,  I've  seen  all  along  that  the  general  intro 
duction  of  our  motors  into  all  sorts  of  industrial  uses 
would  throw  hundreds  and  thousands  of  laboring  men 
out  of  employment — put  them  on  the  scrap  heap  per 
manently.  What  are  they  going  to  do  then?  Some 
one's  got  to  feed  them  just  the  same,  as  you  once  said 
to  me,  long  ago.  You  talk  about  problems ! — Why,  we 
haven't  got  to  the  great  ones  in  this  country  yet.  The 
cost  of  living  certainly  will  climb  when  that  day  comes. 
And  the  scale  of  wages  will  go  down,  when  we  abolish 
the  man  who  has  only  muscle  to  sell.  How  are  they 
going  to  eat? 


AT  HEADQUARTERS  155 

"Now,  I've  'foreseen  something  of  this,  and  planned 
for  it.  These  people  can't  plan  for  themselves,  and  it's 
always  got  to  be  some  stronger  mind  that  does  the 
thinking.  You  know,  I  was  born  in  Texas.  I've  al 
ways  resolved  to  do  something  for  that  state ;  and,  as 
I've  just  told  you,  I've  always  had  it  in  mind  to  do 
something  for  the  laboring  man — that  is  to  say,  the 
man  who  sees  himself  just  as  he  really  is,  and  who 
d'oesn't  rate  himself  worth  just  the  same  as  the  fel 
low  next  door  to  him,  so  much  and  no  more. 

"I've  had  my  eye  for  some  time  on  a  tract  of  land 
down  in  Texas,  forty  thousand  acres.  It  shall  never 
be  said  of  John  Rawn  that  he  forgot  either  his  state 
or  his  fellow-man  in  the  time  of  his  success.  When 
we  get  our  motors  going  here — it  will  be,  of  course, 
a  few  years  before  the  full  effect  of  it  all  is  felt — why 
then  I'm  going  to  colonize  hundreds  of  these  discarded 
workmen  on  this  land  in  Texas.  They  can  put  in  their 
labor  there,  where  it  will  be  useful,  and  can  produce  a 
living  for  themselves  and  a  surplus  for  others.  In 
short,  it  has  been  my  plan  to  put  them  where  they 
could  continue  to  be  useful  to  society.  I  wouldn't  want 
to  see  them  starve!"  Mr.  Rawn's  lip  quivered  at  this 
thought.  He  felt  himself  to  be  a  very  tender-hearted 
man. 


"Yes,"  said  Halsey  grimly,  "the  Czar  of  Russia  Had 
some  such  notion  regarding  the  serfs.  Yet  he  freed 
them  eventually." 

"Nonsense!  They'll  be  not  in  the  least  serfs,  but 
will  simply  be  men  transferred  by  a  higher  intelligence 
to  a  plane  of  life  which 'otherwise  they  could  not  reach 


156  JOHN   RAWN 

— a  plane  where  they  can  be  of  use  not  only  to  them 
selves  but  to  others." 

"You're  always  talking,  my  son,"  went  on  Rawn, 
harshly,  "about  helping  your  fellow-man,  loving  him 
like  a  brother — human  equality,  and  all  that  sort  of 
rot.  What  have  any  of  you  ever  really  done  for  each 
other,  I'd  like  to  know,  except  to  meet  up  there  in  gar 
rets,  with  lanterns  hanging  around,  and  discuss  plans 
for  taking  away  from  stronger  men  the  property  they 
have  accumulated  ?  Now,  I'm  not  going  to  take  it  out 
in  talk — I'm  going  to  do  something  for  these  people. 
I'm  going  to  make  Texas  the  place  for  my  colony,  be 
cause  I  don't  want  to  deprive  my  native  state  of  the 
credit  of  producing  a  man  who  had  two  big  ideas — 
cheap  power,  and  common  sense  in  labor.  There's 
two  big  ideas." 

"I  wouldn't  dare  tell  the  men  anything  of  that,"  was 
Halsey's  comment.  "It's  hard  enough  as  it  is." 

"No,  certainly  not.  We'll  just  go  on  and  take  our 
chances  with  these  men ;  and  they  take  their  chances 
with  us.  You  have  my  instructions  to  discharge  any 
man  who  kicks  on  the  wage  cut,  if  he  doesn't  fire  him 
self.  The  town's  full  of  men  with  families,  who  aren't 
earning  enough  to  eat.  You  can  get  all  the  help  you 
want.  Tell  them  we're  open  shop,  and  if  they  don't 
like  it  they  can  do  their  worst.  Let  them  bring  on 
their  dynamite,  if  they  want  to  try  that — they  can 
have  all  the  fight  they  want ;  and  I'll  stay  with  it  un 
til  I  see  them  crawl." 

"There's  something  I  don't  understand  about  it, 
Mr.  Rawn.  The  men  are  very  sullen.  The  foremen 
tell  me  that  they  never  had  so  much  trouble.  Of 
course,  they  don't  understand  it  themselves,  but  it's 


AT   HEADQUARTERS  157 

just  as  though  our  secret  was  getting  out,  and  as  if  the 
men  were  afraid  of  cutting  their  own  throats  when 
they  build  these  machines.  Not  that  they  understand 
what  it's  all  about — it's  air  tight  yet,  that's  sure." 

"You  begin  to  see  some  of  the  practical  results  of 
your  infernal  socialistic  ideas,  don't  you,  then?  You'll 
come  to  my  notion  of  life  after  a  while." 

"Mr.  Rawn,  what's  the  >end  of  that?  What's  the 
logical  conclusion?" 

"Well,  I'll  tell  you !  One  end  and  logical  conclusion 
is  going  to  be  that  I'll  get  some  one  to  handle  that 
factory  if  you  can't ;  and  he'll  handle  it  the  way  I  tell 
him!" 

"You  want  my  resignation  now?" 

"I'd  very  likely  take  it  if  it  weren't  for  Grace.  Be 
sides,  we've  started  on  this  thing  together;  and  more 
over  again,  I  want  you,  when  I  go  to  New  York,  to 
see  the  directors  and  explain  to  them  that  their  im 
patience  is  all  wrong." 

"Is  there  much  dissatisfaction  down  there?" 

"Yes.  We've  both  got  to  run  down  East  to-morrow 
night.  Go  on  out  now,  and  reserve  four  compartments 
on  the  limited." 

"Four?" 

"Yes — we'll  want  a  place  to  eat  and  work  on  the 
road.  I've  got  to  take  a  stenographer  along,  of  course. 
Next  year  I'll  have  a  car  of  my  own." 


VI 

Halsey  cast  a  quick  glance  at  him,  but  still  hesi 
tated.  "I  don't  see  how  I  can  well  leave  Grace  right 
now,"  said  he.  "It's  near  her  time." 


158  JOHN   RAWN 

"You  both  take  your  chances  about  that,"  growled 
Rawn.  "Business  enterprises  have  to  be  born,  as  well 
as  children.  The  important  things  come  first.  The  one 
important  thing  for  you  and  me  is  to  get  down  there 
and  see  those  cold-footed  Easterners  and  tell  them 
where  they  get  off  in  this  business." 

"Say  three  days — maybe  I  can  get  back  in  time,  Mr. 
Rawn.  But  I  must  say  that  they're  asking  us  both  to 
show  a  good  deal  of  loyalty  to  this  company." 

"It's  the  only  way  to  get  success — fidelity  to  your 
employers,  no  matter  what  comes.  Of  course,  I  know 
how  you  feel,  but  business  can't  wait  on  women." 

"A  woman  doesn't  always  understand  about  busi 
ness,  Mr.  Rawn.  They're  rather  strange  things,  don't 
you  think  ?  Grace  doesn't  talk  much  to  me — she  never 
has.  Sometimes — " 

Rawn  raised  a  hand.  "Charles,  never  let  me  hear 
a  word  of  doubt  or  disloyalty  regarding  your  wife! 
No  daughter  of  Grace's  parents  could  be  anything  but 
faithful  and  worthy.  You  should  return  such  loyalty 
with  love.  Never  let  anything  shake  you  out  of  your 
duty  to  your  own  wife — my  girl  Grace." 

"Why  do  you  say  that?  We're  married,  and  we're 
happy — and  as  you  know — " 

"Very  well.  I  like  to  hear  you  speak  in  that  way. 
Always  be  gentle  and  kind  to  your  wife.  Of  course, 
marriage  may  not  seem  always  as  it  was  in  the  honey 
moon  days,  my  son." 

"That's  true,"  said  Halsey  suddenly.  "Do  you  know, 
I've  thought  that." 

"What  right  had  you  to  think  it?" 

"Mr.  Rawn,  Grace  is  my  wife  and  I  love  her.  But 
I'll  confess  the  truth  to  you — she  acts  as  though  we'd 


AT  HEADQUARTERS  159 

been  married  forty  years.  She  runs  the  house  well, 
but  she — I  can't  explain  to  you  what  I  mean.  She 
doesn't  seem  contented  any  more.  Of  course,  she  loves 
me,  and  of  course  I  love  her,  and  we're  married,  and 
all  that ;  and  then—" 

"Charles,  you  surprise  and  grieve  me.  Grace  is  my 
daughter.  She  may  have  self-respect  and  dignity,  but 
she  will  never  lack  in  dutifulness.  Did  you  ever  stop' 
to  think,  Charles,  that  you  owe  your  place  in  life  to 
her?" 

"I  wasn't  thinking  of  business,  Mr.  Rawn,  and  if 
you  please,  we'll  not  discuss  that.  I  only  spoke  freely 
because  of  what  we  both  know — in  fact,  I'd  rather  stay 
home  than  go  to  New  York  with  you.  If  you  took 
along  your  assistant — Miss  Delaware,  I  suppose  ?" 

Rawn  nodded.  "Yes,  she  has  the  details  of  the  sub- 
companies  well  in  hand.  I  want  her  along,  just  as  I 
want  you,  so  that  all  questions  can  be  answered  as  to 
details  of  the  office  and  factory  work,  in  case  I  should 
not  personally  be  familiar  with  them — as  I  think  I  am, 
for  the  most  part." 

"Then  you  couldn't  use  the  stenographer  on  the 
train — I  mean  the  regular  one  ?" 

"I  could  not,  Mr.  Halsey,"  said  John  Rawn  icily. 
"What  business  is  it  of  yours?" 

"None  in  the  least.  I  was  only  thinking  about  any 
possible  talk.  She's  a  very  beautiful  girl,  and  very — 
stunning.  Yes,  on  the  whole,  Mr.  Rawn,  I  think  it 
better  for  me  to  go.  One  day  in  New  York  ought  to 
do  us,  ought  it  not?" 

Rawn  nodded.  "Yes,  we'll  be  back  here  on  the 
fourth  day,  at  worst.  I've  got  to  have  you  down  there 
to  explain  the  different  installations.  I  am  as  impa- 


160  JOHN   RAWN 

tient  as  anybody  else.  I  want  to  get  to  the  place  where 
I'll  be  making  some  real  money." 

"I  thought  you  had  been,"  grinned  Halsey.  "Your 
house,  for  instance  ?" 

"Over  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  in  there 
now,  and  as  much  more  to  go  in  later,"  said  Rawn. 
"I've  spent  over  a  half  million  altogether,  private, 
overheads  and  investments,  since  I  went  in  with  this 
company.  My  salary  is  only  a  hundred  thousand,  and 
no  man  ever  lives  on  his  salary  and  lays  up  any  money 
— he's  got  to  make  his  start  on  the  side.  I've  not  done 
badly  in  that  way.  I'm  learning  the  market  from  the 
inside.  I've  had  one  killing  after  another — Oil,  Rubber 
— awfully  good  luck.  Charles,  the  next  ten  years  in  all 
likelihood  will  see  me  a  rich  man,  very  rich.  I've  not 
done  badly  now,  for  the  son  of  a  Methodist  preacher 
out  of  a  little  Texas  town.  Let  me  tell  you  something. 
Money  is  easy  to  make  when  you  get  the  start.  It 
rolls,  I  tell  you,  it  rolls  up  like  a  snowball.  It  grows 
and  spreads — there's  nothing  like  it  in  its  power.  It's 
power  itself!" 

VII 

Rawn  rose,  soon  pausing  in  his  excited  walk,  in 
his  wonted  posture,  feet  apart,  hands  under  his  coat 
tails.  Halsey  looked  at  him,  frowning  half  sullenly,  as 
he  went  on. 

"Ah,  Charles,  there's  nothing  like  money  as  an  am 
bition  for  a  man !  When  I  hear  you  talking  your  folly, 
about  this  brotherhood  of  man — when  I  see  you  wor 
rying  your  small  head  about  the  future  of  this  repub 
lic,  you  make  me  smile !  What  difference  about  the 
rest  of  the  world  if  you  take  care  of  yourself '?  There's 


AT   HEADQUARTERS  161 

one  brotherhood  that's  worth  while,  and  only  one,  and 
it  isn't  that  of  laboring  men,  of  common  men — it  is 
the  brotherhood  of  big  men  who  have  made  big  money. 
There's  a  union  for  you,  son !  It  does  not  break,  it  does 
not  snitch,  it  does  not  strike.  It  sticks,  it  hangs  to 
gether — the  union  of  big  business  men  is  the  only  one 
worth  while.  Come  with  me,  and  I'll  show  you  some 
proof  of  that." 

Halsey  looked  at  him,  his  eyes  glittering,  words  of 
scorn  rising  to  his  tongue;  but  he  controlled  himself. 
"All  right,  Mr.  Rawn,"  said  he,  "I'll  be  ready  to  start 
to-morrow,  and  I'll  count  on  getting  back  here  by  the 
last  of  the  week,  at  least.  Good  day,  sir." 

He  left  the  room  quietly.  He  was  a  handsome,  stal 
wart  young  man,  but  in  some  way  his  face  did  not  look 
happy.  Rawn  sat  staring  at  the  door  through  which 
he  had  disappeared.  There  came  over  his  feelings 
some  sort  of  vague  dissatisfaction  or  apprehension, 
he  knew  not  what. 

"I'm  scared  at  something,  just  like  those  laborers," 
said  he ;  "and  when  there's  no  reason  in  the  world,  so 
far  as  any  one  can  tell.  Pshaw !" 


VIII 

He  flung  himself  around  to  his  place  at  his  desk,  and 
in  doing  so  struck  his  hand  against  the  pointed  letter- 
opener  which  lay  there.  A  tiny  trickle  of  blood 
appeared,  which  he  sought  to  staunch  with  his  hand 
kerchief.  At  last  he  raised  his  head  with  a  grin,  and 
remarked  half  aloud,  to  himself,  "When  in  doubt, 
touch  the  right-hand  button!" 

"Miss  Delaware,"  said  he  an  instant  later,  as  his 


162  JOHN   RAWN 

assistant  appeared,  "I've  cut  my  hand  a  little.  I  wish 
you'd  tell  one  of  the  boys  to  bring  me  a  basin  of  hot 
water,  or  some  sticking  plaster  or  something." 

"If  you  will  allow  me,  Mr.  Rawn,"  she  answered 
respectfully,  "I  think  I  could  fix  that  without  trouble. 
I  have  a  little  liquid  ether  and  collodion  in  my  desk. 
It  usually  will  stop  any  small  cut,  and  it  keeps  it 
clean." 

"All  right,"  said  Rawn,  "anything  to  stop  the  bleed 
ing — I  must  get  to  work." 

She  reappeared  a  moment  later  with  a  small  bottle 
and  a  pencil  brush,  and  bending  over,  proceeded  to 
touch  the  tiny  wound  with  the  biting  liquid,  with  a 
slight  "Teh!"  as  she  saw  the  hand  wince  under  the 
temporary  sting.  Rawn  looked  at  her  with  a  singular 
expression. 

"It's  odd,  Miss  Delaware,"  said  he,  "that  I  was  just 
saying  to  myself  a  minute  ago  that  I'd  bet  a  thousand 
dollars  you  had  something  ready,  at  just  the  right 
time!  Thank  you  very  much. 

"By  the  way,"  he  added,  "I  was  just  telling  my  son- 
in-law,  Mr.  Halsey,  the  superintendent  of  our  works, 
that  it's  going  to  be  necessary  for  all  three  of  us — 
that  is  to  say,  myself,  Mr.  Halsey  and  you — to  start 
for  New  York  to-morrow  afternoon.  I'll  probably 
have  to  do  some  letters  on  the  train,  and  you  would 
better  see  that  a  typewriter  is  sent  on — Mr.  Halsey 
will  give  us  the  berth  numbers  in  the  morning,  I 
suppose.  Sorry  to  take  you  out  of  your  work,  but 
then—" 

"I  should  like  to  go,  above  all  things,  Mr.  Rawn," 
replied  the  young  woman,  still  respectfully. 


AT  HEADQUARTERS  163 

"All  right.  Of  course,  you  go  on  company  account. 
Maybe  you'll  like  the  change  of  work  and  scene. 
Please  bring  along  all  the  reports  on  those  Lower 
Valley  instalments,  and  all  the  estimates  we've  been 
working  on  here  for  the  last  few  days.  It  might  be 
a  good  plan  to  have  your  files  for  the  last  month  go 
along,  with  your  card  indexes.  We've  got  to  show 
those  people  down  there  a  thing  or  two. 

"I  suppose  you  know  our  superintendent,  Mr.  Hal- 
sey — my  son-in-law,"  he  added.  "He's  going,  too." 

"Oh,  yes.  He's  here  often.  Sometimes  I've  done 
work  for  him,  you  know.  He  does  a  good,  clear  letter 
— but  rather  long.  He  can't  get  through  so  much  in 
an  hour  as  you  can,  Mr.  Rawn." 

.When  she  had  retired,  Rawn  was  seized  with  an  im 
pulsive  desire  to  raise  his  secretary's  salary  again; 
but  he  reflected  that  it  would  hardly  do — although  he 
was  convinced  that  he  had  the  most  efficient  assistant 
on  the  Street.  He  did  not  know  she  was  thinking  of 
Halsey  at  that  moment. 

Singularly  enough,  Charles  Halsey  was  thinking  of 
Miss  Delaware  at  about  that  same  time.  He  was  say 
ing  to  himself,  as  he  passed  into  the  hall  after  nodding 
to  her :  "By  George,  isn't  she  efficient !"  Practically 
all  the  male  clerks  would  have  agreed  with  him  had 
they  heard  him.  With  equal  strenuousness,  all  the 
female  clerks  would  have  dissented.  After  he  had  said 
to  himself  that  Miss  Delaware  was  efficient,  Halsey 
checked  himself  on  the  point  of  adding  that  she  was 
also  something  besides  efficient.  He  stopped  the 
thought  so  sharply  that  it  stopped  his  stride  as  well. 
There  came  to  his  mind  the  picture  of  his  wife,  now 


164  JOHN   RAWN 

soon  to  enter  into  woman's  valley  of  the  shadows.  He 
paused,  obliging  his  soul  to  render  to  his  wife  all 
honor,  all  homage,  all  loyalty,  all  duty — indeed,  all 
those  things  which  a  wife  will  trade  en  masse  for  just 
a  little  real  spontaneous  love. 


CHAPTER  V 


"HHHAT  may  all  be  very  well,"  commented  one  of 
A  the  members  at  the  directors'  meeting  of  the 
International  Power  Company,  held  on  the  day  of 
Rawn's  arrival  in  New  York;  "that  may  all  be  true, 
but  what  do  we  know  about  the  practical  application? 
I've  heard  of  extracting  gold  from  sea  water — and  the 
fellow  proved  it  right  before  your  eyes !  The  world 
is  full  of  these  things,  getting  rich  all  at  once,  but 
usually  when  we  get  to  the  bottom  of  it,  there's  the 
same  old  gold  brick." 

The  speaker  was  rather  a  slight  man,  with  dark 
pointed  beard,  a  man  whose  name  swayed  railway  for 
tunes,  but  whose  digestion  was  not  worth  mentioning. 
Silence  greeted  his  comment.  A  dozen  pairs  of  eyes 
turned  toward  John  Rawn  from  different  points  about 
the  long  directors'  table.  The  speaker  went  on : 

"I  am  ready  to  back  anything  I  believe  in,  of  course, 
and  I  must  say  I  believed  in  this — maybe  because  I 
wanted  to,  it  looked  so  good.  It's  the  pinkest,  pret 
tiest,  sweetest  scheme  I  ever  saw,  and  that's  the  fact. 
But  we  don't  get  anywhere  with  it.  We've  been 
pouring  money  into  these  Chicago  works,  and  there's 
nothing  doing.  We've  been  paying  you  a  pretty  stiff 

165 


i66  JOHN   RAWN 

salary,  Mr.  Rawn,  and  our  total  expenses  Have  footed 
up  enormously.  We've  got  the  work  on  the  dam  and 
on  the  central  transmission  plant  to  show,  yes,  but 
that's  all.  And  that  wasn't  why  I  went  into  this  thing. 
For  one,  I  want  to  be  shown  a  few  things  about  the 
Chicago  installations.  It's  that  wireless  receiver  that's 
got  us  all  into  this,  and  I  want  to  know  about  that." 

John  Rawn  made  characteristic  answer :  "How  much 
is  your  stock  worth,  in  your  opinion,  Van?"  he  de 
manded  quietly. 

"I'll  just  about  call  that  bluff  right  here,"  broke  out 
the  dyspectic  financier.  "I'll  take  sixty  for  all  my 
holdings." 

"How  many  shares?" 

"I'm  only  in  for  three  thousand." 

"Push  me  that  pen,  Charles,"  commented  John 
Rawn  casually.  "I'll  make  a  memorandum  of  that," 
said  he.  "It's  a  sale.  Will  you  please  initial  it?  You 
shall  have  my  check  in  due  course." 

The  dyspeptic  director  hesitated  for  an  instant. 
"Put  up  or  shut  up!"  exclaimed  John  Rawn  roughly. 
"I'm  going  to  buy  you  out,  and  throw  you  out,  right 
here.  We  don't  want  any  cold-foot  sitting  here  with 
us.  This  has  got  to  be  a  bunch  of  fighting  men,  and 
we  don't  want  any  quitters." 

"I'll  not  stand  for  that!"  began  the  dyspeptic.  "I 
want  to  say — " 

"You'll  say  nothing,  and  you'll  stand  for  that,"  re 
torted  Rawn.  "I'll  get  you  the  cash  here  in  copper 
pennies  if  you  like,  inside  of  five  minutes.  O.  K. 
that  paper,  and  cancel  your  right  to  vote.  The  meet 
ing  isn't  called  to  order  yet,  and  the  books  are  not 
closed." 


THEIR  MASTER'S   VOICE  167 

"That's  the  talk!"  growled  a  deep  voice  farther  to 
ward  the  end  of  the  table.  The  general  traffic  man  of 
earlier  days,  Ackerman,  of  St.  Louis,  was  the  speaker. 
"I'll  take  half  of  that  myself,  Rawn." 

"Yes,  and  divide  it  with  me,  Ackerman,"  nodded 
Standley,  the  railway  president  to  whom  Rawn  had 
first  brought  his  device. 

The  dissatisfied  director  paled  yet  more.  "Oh, 
well,"  said  he,  "if  that's  the  way  you  feel  about  it, 
I'll  just  call  your  bluff.  Here's  my  initials ;  and  you're 
welcome  to  my  stock." 

"Record  it !"  said  Rawn  tersely,  throwing  the  memo- 
randum  across  to  the  treasurer.  "Have  you  got  the 
stock  here?" 

"Yes,  right  in  my  inside  pocket,"  retorted  the  other 
savagely. 

"Pass  it  to  the  treasurer,  then,  if  you  please — that 
is  to  say,  if  you  will  take  the  assurance  of  myself  and 
these  gentlemen  that  we'll  take  up  this  memorandum." 

"Oh,  of  course  I'll  do  that,"  assented  the  other 
grudgingly. 

"Then  that'll  be  about  all,"  said  Mr.  Rawn.  "And 
as  this  is  to  be  a  directors'  meeting,  why,  maybe — " 

The  dyspeptic  financier  was  already  reaching  for  his 
hat  and  coat. 

ii 

"I  want  all  you  gentlemen  to  feel,"  said  John  Rawn 
calmly,  "that  there's  a  chance  to  lay  down  right  here, 
if  your  feet  are  getting  cold.  Better  quit  now  than 
later  on.  I  won't  work  with  men  who  haven't  got 
heart  in  this  thing.  If  any  of  you  are  scared,  let  me 
know.  I  couldn't  take  over  all  your  stock  myself,  of 


i68  JOHN  RAWN 

course,  but  if  you  want  to  let  go,  I  believe  I  can  swing 
another  company  organization." 

They  looked  at  him  silently,  here  and  there  a  gray 
head  shaking  in  negation.  Rawn's  eye  lighted. 

"That's  the  idea!"  said  he;  "we'll  all  sit  tight." 

He  turned  to  catch  the  eye  of  the  late  director,  who 
was  now  passing  toward  the  door.  "I'm  going,"  said 
the  latter  importantly. 

"And  good  riddance!"  said  John  Rawn  calmly. 

"I'll  take  care  of  you  for  that,  one  of  these  days, 
Mr.  Rawn !" 

"Why  not  now?" 

"You'll  see  what  I'll  do  to  you  in  the  market !" 

"The  market  be  damned!"  said  John  Rawn  evenly. 
"There  isn't  any  market.  There  isn't  anything  to  buy 
or  sell.  If  there  is  any  stock  offered,  I'm  the  market, 
right  here  and  now.  Go  on  and  do  what  you  can. 
The  more  you  talk  of  what  you  don't  know  about,  the 
more  you'll  boom  this  thing;  so  turn  yourself  loose, 
if  you  feel  like  it.  I've  got  our  superintendent  here 
to  prove  this  thing  out — to  the  directors  of  this  com 
pany,  Mr.  Van.  The  meeting  is  informal,  but  it  may 
be  instructive.  We  can  fill  any  vacancy  on  the  board 
at  some  other  time,  maybe." 

A  large,  bearded  man,  with  drooping  lower  eyelids, 
who  sat  across  the  table,  chuckled  to  himself  gently  as 
the  ex-director  slammed  the  door. 

"Well,  then — "  said  a  tentative  voice. 

All  these  men  were  men  of  large  affairs.  They 
would  have  spared  no  time  for  this  meeting  had  it 
not  seemed  to  them  much  worth  their  while. 

"Van's  going  to  talk,"  said  one  voice. 


THEIR   MASTER'S   VOICE  169 

"Let  him  talk  about  what  he  likes,"  rejoined  Rawn. 
"It's  close  communion  for  the  rest  of  us.  Well,  then, 
have  we  all  got  cards?"  he  demanded. 

There  was  a  grim  look  on  each  face  along  the  table 
which  suited  the  fancy  of  the  speaker.  "All  right, 
then,"  said  he.  "There  are  only  two  or  three  of  you 
who  ever  saw  our  device  actually  at  work.  I've  got 
my  report  all  brought  up  to  date.  Mr.  Halsey  will 
tell  you  what  he  has  been  doing  in  the  works,  how  he 
has  been  handicapped,  why  we  can  not  turn  over  at 
once  a  completed  installation  of  one  of  our  motors.  We 
know  perfectly  well  that  a  great  deal  of  money  has 
been  expended.  We  don't  want  you  to  put  in  that 
money  unless  you  are  satisfied  of  returns,  big  returns. 
Gentlemen,  are  you  ready  to  see  the  gold  brick? 
Would  you  like  to  look  at  the  little  joker,  or  see  if  you 
can  find  the  pea  under  the  shell?  If  so,  there  will  be 
further  opportunity  for  those  who  want  to  drop  out. 
But  I'd  very  much  prefer  you'd  drop  out  now  and  not 
after  our  experiments." 

There  was  no  answer,  beyond  a  growl  from  Acker- 
man,  a  twitched  hand  of  the  bearded  man. 


in 

Halsey  rose  and  placed  on  the  table  the  little  model 
which  he  took  from  the  case  at  his  side.  In  principle, 
it  was  the  same  which  had  been  shown  in  the  original 
demonstration  at  St.  Louis,  long  before,  although  in 
workmanship  it  was  in  this  instance  a  trifle  more  fin 
ished,  showing  more  of  shining  brass  and  steel.  Hal 
sey  looked  about  hesitatingly. 


i;o  JOHN   RAWN 

"Shall  we  use  the  fan  again?"  he  inquired  of  Mr. 
Rawn. 

"Not  on  your  life !"  cried  out  Ackerman.  "No  more 
fan  bursting  goes.  You'll  put  on  the  little  railway, 
here  on  the  table,  as  you  were  showing  me  the  other 
day." 

"You  gentlemen  all  know  the  general  theory  of  the 
invention,"  Halsey  went  on,  again  assuming  the  post  of 
lecturer,  which  Rawn  once  more  graciously  surrendered 
to  him,  waving  a  hand  largely  in  his  direction  as 
though  in  explanation  to  the  others.  "It's  simply  the 
attuning  of  a  motor  to  the  free  electrical  current  in  the 
air — the  wireless  idea,  of  course.  You're  posted  on  all 
this.  Now,  I've  got  some  little  things  here  which  will 
show  some  of  the  applications  of  our  idea.  We'll  make 
a  little  track,  for  a  railway  train,  and  we'll  run  its  mo 
tor  here  with  current  of  our  own,  simply  by  our  re 
ceiver  for  the  free  current. 

"I've  often  thought  of  the  applicability  of  our  re 
ceivers  to  the  use  of  automobiles.  Any  man  could 
have!  one  of  these  receivers  in  his  own  garage,  and 
could  charge  his  own  machine  as  he  liked.  That's  only 
one  use  of  the  idea.  What  is  true  regarding  auto  cars 
is  true  also  of  plows,  wagons,  nearly  all  farm  ma 
chinery.  One  of  these  receivers  which  you  could  carry 
around  under  your  arm  would  do  the  work  of  many 
men,  of  many  horses.  With  this  model  here  I  can,  as 
Mr.  Ackerman  and  Mr.  Standley  will  agree,  burst 
that  electric  fan  wide  open,  and  with  no  wire  attach 
ment  for  any  current  whatever.  And  I  think  we  can 
run  this  little  train  of  cars." 

A  sigh  went  around  the  table  at  these  calm  words. 
These  grave,  gray  men  looked  intently,  bending  for- 


[THEIR   MASTER'S   VOICE  171 

j 

ward  at  the  edge  of  the  table  as  young  Halsey  com 
pleted  his  mechanical  arrangements.  ^ 

"If  this  thing  works/'  said  the  large,  bearded  man, 
leaning  forward,  "where  does  it  leave  railway  trans 
portation?" 

"It  leaves  it  with  us!"  interrupted  John  Rawn. 
"With  us  absolutely!" 

"What's  to  hinder  anybody  from  building  all  the 
railroads  they  want,  and  making  all  the  cars  they  want, 
and  taking  all  the  power  they  want  out  of  the  air,  as 
you  say?"  * 

"Nothing  in  the  world  to  prevent,"  said  John  Rawn, 
"except|  the  solidarity  of  the  railway  men  of  this 
country.  If  we  take  you  all  in  and  if  you  all  stand 
pat,  what  chance  has  any  one  else  got,  except  through 
buying  power  of  us?  Of  course,  this  thing  would 
break  us  if  used  against  us.  But  we  don't  propose  to 
see  it  used  that  way.  Our  patents  protect  us."  i 

"Go  on,"  said  the  bearded  man.  "Let's  see  the 
wheels  go  'round." 

They  saw  as  much,  and  more.  Halsey's  little  car 
repeated  its  circuit  about  the  long  table  again  and 
again,  tirelessly,  operated  by  power  taken  from  the 
unwired  receiver.  Where  the  receiver  got  its  power 
Halsey  explained  in  detail  as  he  had  done  before. 

The  thing  was  there  to  show  for  itself.  As  to  the 
breadth  of  its  application,  these  men  needed  no  advice. 
They  were  accustomed  to  the  look  ahead,  to  the  weigh 
ing  of  wide  possibilities. 

"It's  like  the  French  conjurer,  gentlemen,"  said 
John  Rawn  smiling.  "He  operates  with  his  sleeves 
rolled  up.  There  is  no  deception,  by  friends,'  says 
he.  There's  the  whole  works  on  the  table  right  be- 


172  JOHN   RAWN 

fore  us.  If  it  isn't  a  tremendous  thing  I'm  the  worst 
fooled  man  in  all  this  world,  and  I'll  be  the  worst 
broke  man  in  the  world." 

"Toot!  Toot!"  remarked  a  jovial  voice  from 
Standley's  end  of  the  table.  "Start  her  up  again,  son 
— I  never  get  tired  of  seeing  that  thing  go  like  the 
Chinaman's  cable  car."  Levity  was  a  relief  to  them. 
There  is  a  certain  strain,  after  all,  in  planning  for  the 
ownership  of  a  people,  a  republic. 

Halsey  again  pushed  down  the  lever,  and  again  the 
dummy  car  ran  around  and  about  the  table  on  the 
curved  track  which  had  been  laid  for  it. 

"That's  the  travel  of  the  future,  gentlemen,"  said 
John  Rawn  soberly,  at  length.  "They  can  take  it  or 
leave  it.  So  can  you." 

IV 

Silence  fell  on  that  group  of  gray,  grave  men.  The 
thing  seemed  to  them  uncanny,  although  so  simple. 
They  looked  about,  one  at  the  other.  A  sort  of  sigh 
passed  about  the  room.  There  sat  at  the  table  men 
who  represented  untold  millions  of  capital.  They  were 
looking  upon  a  device  which  in  the  belief  of  all  was 
about  to  multiply  these  millions  many-fold.  Their 
hands  already  inordinately  full  of  power,  they  contem 
plated  yet  more  inordinate  power.  They  sat  fascinated, 
silent,  sighing  at  the  prospect,  in  a  delicious  half-de 
lirium.  The  forehead  or  the  upper  lip  of  each  was 
moist. 

"You  can't  get  away  from  it,  fellows,"  said  Stand- 
ley,  of  St.  Louis.  "I've  tried  to,  my  best,  and  I  can't. 
I  felt  just  the  way  you  do  when  it  was  first  put  up  to 
me — I  didn't  want  to  face  the  truth,  it  was  so  big.  As 


THEIR   MASTER'S   VOICE  173 

soon  as  these  two  men  went  away  from  me  my  feet 
got  cold;  but  if  they  hadn't  come  back,  I  think  I'd 
have  jumped  in  the  river.  I  w.ant  to  let  go  of  this 
thing  right  here — it  scares  me.  But  I  just  can't,  that's 
all." 

They  made  no  comment.  The  atmosphere  seemed 
strangely  strained,  tense.  An  old  and  beardless  man, 
thin,  pallid,  leaned  against  the  table,  his  eyes  staring, 
his  face  almost  corpse-like.  No  voice  was  raised  in 
criticism  or  indeed  in  comment,  but  all  sat  weighing, 
pondering.  Rawn  was  the  first  to  break  the  silence. 

"Gentlemen,"  said  he,  "of  course  this  is  the  big 
part  of  our  company  patents,  and  it  is  over  this  that 
we've  met  to-day.  You've  been  doubting  my  execu 
tive  ability.  I  have  shown  you  what  the  prize  is  that 
we're  working  for — there  it  is  on  the  table.  As  to  the 
difficulties  of  pulling  off  a  thing  as  big  as  this,  they  are 
bigger  in  this  case  than  could  be  expected  or  figured 
out  in  advance.  Our  superintendent,  Mr.  Halsey  here, 
tells  me  that  he  is  having  a  great  deal  of  trouble  in 
labor  matters.  The  men  are  discontented,  and  what 
is  worse,  they're  curious,  all  the  time.  We  can't  em 
ploy  just  any  sort  of  irresponsible  labor,  and  we  can't 
complete  one  machine — we've  got  to  bring  them  all 
through,  at  once,  together — indeed,  got  pretty  near  to 
finish  them  all  ourselves.  We  can't  take  any  people  in 
on  this  secret,  of  course.  It  all  takes  time,  and  it  all 
takes  money. 

"I've  got  my  report  here,  all  these  pages,  which  I'll 
not  trouble  you  to  read  unless  you  like.  What  I  want 
to  say  is  this :  we've  got  our  power  plant,  and  our  wire 
transmitter  system,  and  we're  making  money  on  that, 
as  everybody  knows.  We  can  pay  dividends  on  the 


174  JOHN   RAWN 

old  way  of  transmitting  power,  developing  the  'juice' 
by  water  power  and  peddling  it  out  by  wire.  We  can 
pay  ten  per  cent.,  and  a  stock  dividend  every  year,  for 
we  are  earning  nineteen  and  eight-tenths  per  cent,  now, 
on  wire  work  alone,  not  mentioning  our  exclusive 
franchises.  Nobody  can  put  a  value  on  those.  Up 
to  this  time  most  of  us  have  been  contented  to  reach 
out  and  get  hold  of  water  powers  in  the  old  way — 
that  didn't  look  so  slow  to  us  then  as  it  does  now.  If 
we  should  throw  away,  entirely,  this  part  of  our  de 
vice,  we  still  would  stand  just  as  safe  as  we  ever 
would  have  stood. 

"Again,  suppose  we  wanted  to  play  the  market,  and 
throw  away  every  idea  of  using  this  second  current  of 
electricity.  We  could  list  this  stock  to-morrow  and 
make  it  the  most  active  issue  on  the  Street.  That's 
plain  to  all  of  us. 

"Again,  let's  reason  over  this  matter  and  see 
whether  it  isn't  impatience  and  not  distrust  which  is 
troubling  all  of  us.  We  haven't  really  spent  so  very 
much  money  in  the  receiver  installations.  There  isn't 
a  stockyards  firm  in  Chicago  which  doesn't  put  aside  a 
bigger  appropriation  every  year  for  scientific  experi 
menting  than  we're  putting  into  what  is  no  experiment, 
but  a  certainty.  It  is  a  drop  in  the  bucket,  as  my  fig 
ures  here  show  distinctly. 

"Now,  since  these  things  are  true,  I  just  came  down 
here  to  ask  you  gentlemen  what  it  is  that  you  want? 
You've  been  criticizing  me.  We've  thought  enough  of 
this  thing  to  plan  legislation  in  Congress  and  in  the 
adjoining  states  where  we  are  working.  We've  been  at 
a  lot  of  trouble  one  way  or  other.  We've  wanted  to  get  a 


THEIR   MASTER'S   VOICE  175 

grip  on  this  country  which  couldn't  be  shaken  off  by 
any  political  or  industrial  changes.  That's  just  what 
I'm  offering  you  here,  gentlemen.  Pretty  much  the 
whole  business  world  will  be  yours.  /  brought  you 
this,  didn't  I?  Now,  do  you  want  a  nice  gold  fence 
around  the  world  with  diamond  tips  to  the  pickets; 
or  what  is  it  that  you  do  want  ?  Up  to  this  time  you've 
wanted  what  was  impossible.  Now  I've  shown  you 
that  the  impossible  is  possible.  Here  it  is,  on  the 
table  in  front  of  you — here's  the  proof.  Unless  I  am 
drunk  or  crazy,  the  future  governors  of  the  United 
States  of  America  are  sitting  right  here  at  this  table." 
He  touched  the  glass  top  lightly,  gently,  with  his  fin 
ger-tips,  which  had  no  tremor  in  them.  John  Rawn  was 
completely  master  of  himself. 


"But  it  has  cost  a  lot  of  money,  Rawn,"  began  one 
director  hesitatingly. 

"That's  a  relative  term,"  answered  Rawn.  "I  have 
all  the  details  here  among  my  figures.  It  is  much  or 
little,  as  you  care  to  look  at  it — it  doesn't  seem  much  to 
me.  We've  run  this  thing  down  to  rock-bed  economy 
all  the  time.  We  cut  our  men  a  dollar  a  week  last 
month,  and  it  started  a  riot.  We're  trying  to  save  all 
the  money  we  can,  of  course — it's  my  money  that  is 
being  spent  just  the  same  as  yours,  my  time  that  is 
wasting,  just  the  same  as  yours.  I'm  as  eager  as  you 
to  get  my  hands  on  this  thing,  and  to  get  its  hands 
on  this  country.  But  there's  such  a  thing  as  losing 
by  lack  of  confidence,  and  many  and  many  a  good 


176  JOHN   RAWN 

thing  has  been  lost  by  lack  of  money  backed  by  nerve. 
What  do  you  want,  gentlemen  ?  I  can't  do  much  more 
than  I  have  done." 

"And   it's   enough!"   cried   the   bearded   man,   his 

voice  harsh,  strident  with  his  emotion.    "We've  got 

to  have  it!    Let's  stick,  let's  stick,  fellows!    They'll 

never  shake  us  off.     There  is  absolutely  no  limit  to 

'this  thing." 

"Is  that  still  the  way  you  feel,  Jim  ?"  asked  Standley 
from  his  end  of  the  table. 

"Yes,  it  is;  how  about  it,  gentlemen?"  answered 
Ackerman's  deep  voice. 

His  eyes  turned  from  one  to  the  other,  and  found 
no  dissent,  although  the  air  of  each  man  was  earnest, 
almost  somber. 

"Shake  hands,  then!"  called  out  the  bearded  man 
with  enthusiasm,  a  man  who  had  swayed  millions  by 
the  force  of  his  own  convictions  before  that  time. 

"Let's  all  shake  hands,  then,  gentlemen,"  said  John 
Rawn. 

They  did  so,  each  man  reaching  out  his  hands  to 
his  neighbor ;  Halsey,  of  course,  stepping  back  as  not 
belonging  to  that  charmed  circle.  They  made  a  ring 
around  that  table  of  countless,  untold!  millions,  of 
uncounted,  unmeasured  power.  Their  faces  would 
have  made  study  sufficient  for  the  greatest  painter  of 
the  world.  There  was  not  a  young  man  present,  not 
one  whose  face  did  not  show  lines  deep  graven,  whose 
hair  was  not  white,  or  gray,  or  grizzled.  Many  faces 
there  were,  but  from  the  eyes  of  each  shone  the  same 
light.  The  grasp  of  the  hand  of  each  meant  the  same 
thing.  They  stood,  hand  clasped  to  hand,  soul  clasped 
to  soul ;  greed  and  power  clasped  to  greed  and  power. 


THEIR   MASTER'S   VOICE  177 

"Move  we  'journ,"  said  Ackerman.     The  president 
dropped  the  gavel  on  the  table  top. 


VI 

Rawn  finally  escaping1  from  the  crowd  of  impor 
tunate  reporters  who  waited!  in  the  halls,  at  length 
broke  away  to  go  to  his  rooms.  He  met  Halsey  in 
the  lobby.  The  latter  had  in  his  hand  a  telegram, 
which  shook  somewhat  as  he  extended  it. 

"Well,"  said  Rawn,  turning  toward  him  with  a 
frown,  "what  is  it?" 

He  read:  "Charles  S.  Halsey,  The  Palatial,  New 
York :  Your  child  is  a  girl.  The  mother  is  doing  well. 
You  would  best  return  at  once.  There  is  a  slight  de 
formity.  You  must  share  this  grief  with  the  mother 
when  she  knows — " 

Rawn  dropped  the  message  to  the  floor.  Halsey's 
face  looked  so  desperately  old  and  sad  that  for  one  mo 
ment  Rawn  almost  forgot  his  own  grief.  "You'd 
better  go  on  home,  Charley,"  he  said.  "Too  bad — to 
g;et  such  news  now!  But  isn't  that  just  like  a  woman !" 


CHAPTER  VI 

IN   PROPER  PERSON 


T  OHN  RAWN  stood  looking  at  the  unceasing 
I  throng  which  surged  confusedly  through  the  cor 
ridors  of  the  gilded  hotel.  Warmth,  music,  a  Babel  of 
voices,  were  all  about.  There  approached  a  little 
group  of  laughing  men  coming  from  the  carriage  en 
trance,  bound,  no  doubt,  to  a  banquet  hall  somewhere 
under  the  capacious  roof.  One  voice  rose  above  the 
the  others  as  the  group  advanced.  There  appeared, 
rapidly  talking  and  gesticulating  as  he  came,  a  ruddy- 
faced,  stocky  figure,  with  head  close-cropped,  jaw 
undershot,  small  eyes,  fighting  terrier  make-up. 

"I  tell  you,  gentlemen,  I'll  compromise  not  in  the 
least  on  this  matter !  It  makes  no  difference  what  they 
do  with  the  ticket  or  with  me.  There's  only  one  way 
about  these  matters,  and  that's  the  right  way !  I  care 
nothing  whether  this  man  be  a  rich  man  or  a  poor 
man.  The  only  question  is,  whether  he  is  right.  If 
he  is  not  right,  he  will  never — I  say  to  you,  gentle 
men — "  this  with  close- shut  jaw  and  fist  hard  smitten 
into  palm —  "I  say  to  you,  it  makes  no  difference  who 
he  is  or  what  he  is,  he'll  never  win  through ;  and  in  the 
event  you  suffer  from  us — " 

178 


IN   PROPER   PERSON  179 

He  passed  on,  gesticulating,  talking.  Men  com 
mented  audibly,  for  there  was  no  mistaking  a  man 
idealized  by  some,  dreaded  by  others,  scorned  by 
none,  anathematized  by  not  a  few.  He  was  to  address 
that  night  a  meeting  of  independent  politicians,  so- 
called,  here  in  the  very  house  of  individualistic  power, 
and  many  old-line  members  of  his  party  had  their 
doubts,  the  fear  of  a  new  party  being  ever  present  in 
the  politician's  mind — the  same  fear  professional  poli 
ticians,  Whig,  Democrat,  what-not,  had  of  the  new 
party  formed  before  the  Civil  War  at  the  command  of 
a  people  then  claiming  self-government  as  their  ancient 
right — as  now  they  begin  again  to  do,  facing  our  third 
War  of  Independence. 

"Going  strong,  isn't  he?"  commented  one  sardon 
ically,  within  Rawn's  hearing. 

"That's  all  right,  my  friend,"  was  the  smiling  an 
swer  of  yet  another.  "Strong  enough  to  make  a  lot  of 
you  hunt  your  holes  yet.  There's  quite  a  few  people  in 
this  little  old  country  outside  this  island — and  he'll — " 

"Nonsense !  No  chance,  not  the  least  chance  in  the 
world!" 

"You  underestimate  this  new  movement,"  began  the 
other. 

"New  movement! — you're  'progressive,'  eh?  Got 
that  bee?  A  lot  of  good  it'll  do  you.  It  will  be  simply 
a  new  line-up  following  our  old  and  time-tried  political 
methods — it  all  comes  to  that,  take  my  word.  The 
people  aren't  in  politics.  A  lot  of  professionals  do 
our  governing  for  us." 

"All  the  same,  there  goes  the  people's  candidate !" 

"Take  him  and  welcome,"  was  the  answer.  "Take 
your  candidate.  We'll  eat  him  up — if  he  runs." 


i8o  JOHN   RAWN 

They  also  passed  on  down  the  hall,  gesticulating, 
their  voices  swallowed  up  with  others,  arising  con 
fusedly.  This  and  that  couple  or  group  passed  by, 
also  talking,  among  them  many  persons  obviously  of 
notoriety,  importance  or  distinction,  though  unknown 
to  their  observer.  Rawn  stood  and  watched  them  all. 
The  scene  was  to  his  liking.  The  stir,  the  confusion, 
appealed  to  him.  The  flowering  of  the  great  city's 
night  life  was  here,  such  as  that  is.  It  was  the  focus 
of  our  country's  civilization,  such  as  that  is.  Men 
worth  millions  passed,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  a  won 
drous  procession,  such  as  that  is. 


ii 

And  here  and  there,  always  moving  and  mingling 
with  those  men  whose  reception  or  whose  raiment  an 
nounced  them  as  persons  of  importance,  moved  women, 
beautiful  women,  floating  by,  brightly,  radiantly, 
rustlingly — women  blazing  with  jewels,  women  with 
bright  eyes,  women  whose  apparel  bespoke  them  as  ac 
cepted  integers  of  the  city's  vast  human  sum. 

Rawn  stood  studying  the  procession  for  a  long  time, 
eying  group  after  group  carefully.  A  conclusion  was 
forming  in  his  mind.  He  was  learning  that  when  a 
man  has  achieved  power,  success,  wealth,  notoriety 
even,  he  turns  with  his  next  thought  to  some  woman ; 
and  finds'  some  woman  waiting. 

Not,  as  he  reflected,  a  woman  grown  old  and  gray. 
Not  a  woman  with  finger-tips  blackened  and  rough 
ened,  of  bowed  figure  and  ill-fitting  garb,  of  awkward 
and  unaccustomed  air — not  to  that  sort  of  woman  who 
would  be  noticed  here  for  her  lack  of  fitness  in  this 


IN    PROPER   PERSON  181 

place.  No,  rather,  as  he  noticed,  men  of  influence  or 
position  or  power  turned  to  such  women  as  these 
about  him  now — of  distinct  personality,  of  birtH  and 
breeding,  or  at  least  of  beauty;  women  shimmering 
in  silks,  blazing  in  gems,  women  who  looked  up  laugh 
ing  as  they  passed,  women  young  and  beautiful,  whose 
voices  were  soft,  around  whom  floated  as  they  walked 
some  subtle  fascination. 

Rawn  pondered.  He  saw  passing  a  few  men  whom 
he  knew,  all  with  women  whom  he  did  not  know.  In 
each  case  his  new-formed  rule  seemed  to  hold  good; 
the  exception  being  noted  only  in  the  bored  and  weary 
faces  of  men  accompanied  by  women  perhaps  rustling 
and  blazing  in  silks  and  diamonds,  but  not  owning 
youth  and  fascination. 

John  Rawn  found  that  power  and  beauty  go  hand  in 
hand ;  that  money  and  beauty  also  go  hand  in  hand — • 
which  is  to  say  the  same  thing.  He  began  to  ponder 
upon  youth,  beauty  and  love  as  appurtenances  of 
wealth,  success  and  power. 

"That's  the  game !"  he  said  half  to  himself.  "Why, 
look  at  those  chaps.  They  look  pretty  much  alike,  act 
pretty  much  alike,  too.  When  a  man  has  money  to 
burn,  there  is  only  one  way — and  there  it  is !" 


in 

And  then  it  occurred  to  John  Rawn  with  sudden  and 
unpleasing  force  that,  although  he  was  among  this 
throng,  he  was  not  of  it.  Himself  a  man  of  power, 
success,  yes,  even  of  wealth,  he  lacked  in  certain  be 
tokening  appurtenances  thereto.  A  not  unusual  wave 
of  self-pity  crept  slowly  over  him.  Why  should  he, 


182  JOHN    RAWN 

a  man  of  his  attainments,  lack  in  any  degree  what 
others  had? 

He  stood  pondering,  not  wholly  happy,  until  pres 
ently  he  felt,  rather  than  saw,  a  glance  bent  upon  him 
by  a  man  who  passed,  a  stately  and  well-garbed  young 
woman  upon  his  arm.  He  was  a  man  now  in  fault 
less  evening  dress,  yet  easily  to  be  recognized — none 
less,  indeed,  than  the  dyspeptic  director  who  so  sum 
marily  had  been  dismissed  by  John  Rawn  himself  not 
three  hours  ago.  His  dark  face  became  even  darker 
as  he  saw  the  victor  of  that  controversy  standing  here 
alone.  He  smiled  sardonically.  To  Rawn  it  seemed 
that  he  smiled  because  he  saw  the  solitary  attitude  of 
a  man  as  good  as  himself,  as  fit  as  himself  for  all  the 
insignia  of  power,  yet  publicly  self-confessed  as  lack 
ing  all  such  insignia.  He  started,  flushed,  frowned. 
He  had  shown  these  men,  these  influential  magnates 
in  New  York,  that  he  could  be  their  master  upon  occa 
sion — he  had  mastered  this  man  passing  yonder.  Yet 
now  he  stood  here  alone,  with  no  woman  to  advertise 
his  power  to  the  world ;  and  men  laughed  at  him !  No 
woman  wore  his  silks,  displayed  his  jewels.  He  was 
John  Rawn,  born  to  the  purple ;  yet  he  might  be  taken 
here  for  a  country  merchant  on  his  first  trip  from 
home.  .  .  . 

He  turned  to  the  key-counter.  The  clerk,  with  in 
fallible  instinct — without  his  request — handed  him  the 
key  to  his  room,  not  lacking  acquaintance  with  men  of 
Mr.  Rawn's  acquaintance,  and  knowing  money  when 
he  saw  it.  ...  Rawn  passed  down  the  hall,  went  up 
two  flights  in  the  elevator,  turned  into  the  left-hand  cor 
ridor,  and  at  length  knocked  deliberately  at  a  door 
where  a  light  showed. 


IN   PROPER   PERSON  183 

IV 

"Come!"  called  a  soft  voice.  He  knocked  again, 
a  trifle  hesitant,  and  looked  down  the  corridor,  each 
way.  The  voice  repeated,  "Come!"  He  pushed  open 
the  door. 

Virginia  Delaware  stood  before  her  dressing-glass, 
her  toilet  for  evening  completed  except  perhaps  for  a 
touch  or  two  about  her  coiffure.  She  turned  now,  and 
flushed  as  she  saw  her  visitor. 

"Mr.  Rawn !"  she  exclaimed ;  "I  thought  it  was  the 
maid!  I  had  just  called  her." 

Rawn  turned  and  shut  the  door.  "Never  mind  her," 
he  said.  "I  will  be  gone  in  a  minute.  I  just  wanted — " 

"You  must  go!"  she  exclaimed.  "You  ought  not 
to  have  come — it  is  not  permitted — it  is  not  right !" 

"How  stunning  you  look,  Miss  Delaware!"  was  all 
he  said.  He  had  never  before  seen  her  arrayed  in 
keeping  with  these  other  lilies  of  the  field.  Indeed, 
his  life  had  given  him  small  acquaintance  with  con 
ventions,  or  those  who  practised  them.  He  had  no 
mental  process  of  analysis  as  he  gazed  at  her  now,  or 
he  might  have  seen  that  after  all  the  young  woman's 
costume  was  no  more  than  one  of  filmy  blue,  draped 
over  a  pure  and  lustrous  white.  He  could  not  have 
named  the  fashion  which  drew  it  so  daringly  close 
at  hip  and  hem  as  to  reveal  frankly  all  the  lines  of  a 
figure  which  needed  not  to  dread  revelation  for  its 
own  sake,  whether  or  not  for  other  sake.  He  could 
not  have  guessed  what  skill  belonged  to  the  hand  that 
fashioned  this  raiment,  could  not  have  told  its  cost. 
To  him  the  young  woman  was  very  beautiful ;  and  he 
was  too  much  confused  to  be  capable  of  analysis. 


1 84  JOHN   RAWN 

The  corsage  of  the  gown,  cut  square  and  daringly 
deep,  displayed  neck  and  shoulders  white  as  those  of 
any  woman  of  any  city.  Her  figure  gave  lines  had  her 
costume  not  aided.  She  was  beautiful,  yes. 


And  there  was  something  more,  Rawn  could  not  tell 
what.  There  was  some  air  of  excitement,  of  exalta 
tion,  some  sort  of  fever  about  her,  upon  her.  In  her 
eyes  shone  something  Rawn  had  never  noticed  there 
before.  Hastily  he  made  such  inventory  as  he  might 
of  unanalyzed  charms.  He  arrived  at  his  conclusion, 
which  was,  that  Virginia  Delaware  would  do ! 

"You  could  travel  in  fast  company,  my  dear  girl," 
said  he  approvingly. 

"What  do  you  mean  ?"    She  turned  upon  him. 

"That  you  could  go  quite  a  considerable  pace,  my 
dear  girl.  You'll  do.  Let  me  see  your  hands!"  he 
demanded.  And  in  spite  of  her  he  coolly  took  up  a 
hand,  examining  the  shapely  finger-tips.  He  sighed. 
No  needle  had  blackened  or  roughened  them,  the 
typewriter  keys  had  not  yet  flattened  them.  He 
stepped  back,  looked  at  her  from  head  to  foot,  apprais 
ing  all  her  graces,  valuing  her  height  and  roundness 
of  figure.  There  was  small  light  in  his  eye  other  than 
that  of  judicial  approval.  She  bore  out  his  theory. 

"You  surprise  me !"  was  all  he  said. 

"How  do  you  mean,  Mr.  Rawn  ? — But  you  must  go, 
you  really  must !" 

There  came  a  knock  at  the  'door.  Rawn's  negative 
gesture  was  positive.  After  a  moment's  hesitation  the 
girl  stepped  to  the  door  and  spoke  to  the  maid.  "You 


IN   PROPER   PERSON  185 

may  return  again  in  a  little  while,  maid,"  she  said. 
"I'm  not  quite  ready  now."  In  turn  she  stood  with 
her  back  against  the  door,  her  own  color  rising. 

"Oh,  don't  be  uneasy,"  said  John  Rawn  smiling. 
"This  is  quite  considerable  of  a  hotel,  taking  it  as  it  is. 
There  won't  be  any  scandal  over  this." 

"I  don't  think  I  understand  you." 

"I'm  going  in  just  five  minutes.  But  I  want  to  say 
something  to  you  in  the  way  of  a  business  proposition, 
Miss  Delaware." 

"I'm  sure  I  don't  know  what  you  mean."  Her  head 
was  high,  her  color  still  rising. 

"Nothing  in  the  least  wrong,  my  dear  girl,"  said 
John  Rawn.  "It's  simply  a  matter  of  business,  as  I  said. 
You're  here  as  my  assistant,  of  course.  But  did  it 
ever  occur  to  you  that  as  you  stand  there  now,  and 
as  I  stand  here,  we  might  pass  in  that  crowd  below 
there  and  not  be  known  by  any  one?" 


VI 

She  still  stood  looking  at  him,  her  color  high,  unde 
cided  as  to  his  meaning  even  now  as  he  went  on. 

"It  would  be  rather  a  pleasant  experience,  perhaps, 
for  you — as  it  would  be  for  me — just  to  mingle  with 
that  giddy  throng — say,  for  dinner.  Would  you  like  to 
be  part  of  it?  It's  just  a  foolish  thought  that  came  to 
me." 

She  turned  to  him,  her  eyes  bright,  her  face  eager. 
"Could  we,  Mr.  Rawn?"  she  said.  "I'm  crazy  over  it!" 

"I  see,"  he  commented  dryly.  "You  were  dressing 
to  go  down  to  dinner?" 

"No,  no,  I  couldn't  afford  to  do  that,  of  course.    I 


:i86  JOHN    RAWN 

couldn't  go  alone,  and  I  had  no  company.  I  wasn't 
going  down  at  all.  I  just  dressed  up — to — to — " 

"Just  to  look  at  yourself  in  the  mirror,  isn't  that  it, 
Miss  Delaware?" 

"Yes,  it's  the  truth !"  She  turned  to  him  calmly  at 
last,  well  in  hand  again.  "I  couldn't  be  one  of  them — 
couldn't  be  like  those  people  down  below,  so  I  did  the 
best  I  could  up  here — I  dressed  as  much  like  them  as 
I  knew  how.  I — I — I  imagined!  I  dreamed,  Mr. 
Rawn.  I've  never  known  a  real  evening  of  that  sort 
in  all  my  life — but  it's  in  my  blood.  I  want  to  go,  I 
want  to  dine,  and  drink,  and  dance — I'm  mad  about 
it,  I  know,  but  it's  the  truth!  I  want  what  I  can't 
have.  I  want  to  be  what  I'm  not.  I  don't  know  what's 
the  reason.  It's  in  the  air — maybe  it's  in  the  day, 
in  the  country !" 

VII 

"Yes,  it's  the  country,"  said  John  Rawn.  "We're 
all  going  a  swift  pace,  men  and  women  both.  I  don't 
blame  you.  I  understand  you.  Now  I  know  what  you 
want." 

"What  do  you  mean  ?" 

"You  want  just  about  what  /  want." 

"But,  Mr.  Rawn—" 

"It's  the  same  thing — it's  power  that  you  want,  just 
as  I  do.  I  feel  it  in  the  air  when  I  come  near  you. 
You  feel  the  same  way  when  you  come  near  me !" 

She  nodded  rapidly,  her  eyes  narrowing.  "Yes,  it's 
true!"  she  said.  "That's  true." 

"You  want  to  have  it  within  your  ability  to  influence 
men,  just  as  I  do,  don't  you,  Miss  Delaware?  That's 
what  was  in  your  soul  when  you  stood  before  your 


IN   PROPER   PERSON  187 

mirror  there  when  I  came  in,  wasn't  it,  Miss  Dela 
ware?  You  want  to  win,  to  succeed,  to  triumph,  don't 
you,  Miss  Delaware — you've  got  ambition?  Wasn't 
that  your  dream — isn't  that  what  you  were  imagining, 
as  you  stood  there  and  looked  in  your  glass  ?" 

"Yes,  yes,  it's  true,  I  know  it!"  she  admitted  pant 
ing.  "I  know  it,  my  God!  yes,  I  can't  help  it!  But 
what  chance  have  I  ?" 

"All  sorts  of  chances,  my  dear  girl.  I  don't  make 
mistakes.  I  told  you  this  is  a  business  proposition. 
Now,  then,  tell  me,  why  did  you  tog  out  this  way?" 

"I  did  it  because  I  had  to.  I  told  you  I  couldn't 
help  it.  It  was  in  my  blood  to-night !" 

"Any  man  waiting  anywhere,  Miss  Delaware?" 

"On  my  word,  no!  I  wasn't  even  going  down 
stairs.  But  I  told  you  I  was  mad  to  be  in  that  crowd, 
where  the  rich  people  are.  I  wanted  to  hear  the  music, 
I  wanted  to  see  them — I  wanted  to  pretend  for  one 
night  that  I  was  a  part  of  it  all!" 

"You  wanted  to  win — you  coveted  power!  Is  it 
not  true  ?" 

"Yes!"  she  blazed  fiercely.  And  indeed  at  that 
moment  the  room  seemed  full  of  some  large  influence, 
moving,  throbbing  all  about  them. 


VIII 

"I  wanted  that,"  the  girl  admitted.  "All  the  world 
does!" 

"I  suppose  you  wanted  to  see  some  strong  man  fall 
on  his  knees  and  beg  of  you?" 

"Yes." 

"I  am  sorry,  my  dear,  but  I'll  not  do  that.     But  I 


i88  JOHN    RAWN 

understand.  So  you  searched  out  these  glad  rags  and 
tried  yourself  out  before  the  mirror  there!  Very 
good !  You'll  do !  Believe  me — or  ask  any  man  in  all 
this  city." 

She  nodded  rapidly.   "Yes,  you  know  it,  now." 

"Now,  you're  no  more  mad  than  I  am,"  said  John 
Rawn.  "You're  as  cool-headed  as  I  am,  if  I  know 
women  at  all.  We  think  alike.  You're  young.  I'm 
young  enough.  Where'd  you  get  that  gown?" 

"I  had  it  made — in  an  alley,  in  the  city  back  home. 
It  cost  as  much  as  I  could  afford.  Thirty  dollars!" 
She  flung  out  the  words  scornfully. 

"It  looks  three  hundred;  and  I've  seen  worse  below 
to-night  that  probably  cost  three  thousand.  But  it's 
not  yet  quite  complete — your  costume." 

"It  was  the  best  I  had.  You  ought  not  to  taunt  me. 
I  stood  here  facing  myself.  I  felt  disappointed,  bitter ! 
Yes,  I'll  admit  that." 

"You  needn't  be,"  said  Rawn  calmly.  He  nodded  to 
her  bare  and  unadorned  neck,  her  hair  which  lacked 
brilliants,  her  ringers  left  tin  jeweled.  The  girl  caught 
his  meaning  without  further  speech,  and  it  hurt  her 
yet  more. 

"What  could  I  do?  Why  did  you  bring  me  here, 
Mr.  Rawn?  You've  made  me  unhappy.  I've  seen  it, 
and  I  can't  be  a  part  of  it.  It  doesn't  seem  I  can  go 
back  there  to  work  and  be  just  the  same  any  more, 
after  seeing  the  city  here!  I  tell  you,  it's  got  in  my 
blood,  all  at  once." 

"No,"  he  said  evenly,  "not  again  just  the  same.  We 
outgrow  ourselves,  and  can't  go  back.  I'm  not  the 
same  man  I  once  was."  He  half-unconsciously  shifted 
to  get  a  glimpse  of  himself  in  the  mirror. 


IN   PROPER   PERSON  189 

"But  now,  my  business  proposition  is  very  simple. 
It  holds  good  for  one  evening,  Miss  Delaware.  I  was 
just  going  to  propose  that  we  forget  all  this  unhappi- 
ness,  and  do  a  little  pretending  for  one  night,  say  for 
one  hour  or  so." 

IX 

He  fumbled  in  his  waistcoat  pocket,  and  drew  out 
something  which  suddenly  flamed  into  dancing  points 
and  rays  in  the  light  that  fell  upon  it.  She  stood  mo 
tionless  while  he  passed  about  her  neck  a  tiny  thread, 
delicate  as  if  spun  of  moonlight.  She  held  out  her 
hand,  and  he  slipped  over  it  a  gleaming  ring  of  gems. 
She  bent  her  head,  and  he  placed  a  sparkling  ornament 
in  her  hair.  She  had  seen  these  jewels  before.  She 
turned  to  the  glass  now,  her  bosom  heaving  as  she  saw 
them  gleam  at  her  own  neck,  her  own  hands,  in  her 
own  hair.  She  held  out  her  hands  to  look  at  them 
now,  and  the  gems  flashed  back  challenge  to  her  eyes, 
sparkling  yet  more  brilliantly. 

"It  was  nothing,"  said  John  Rawn  tersely.  "That's 
all  that  lacked.  You're  good  as  the  best  now.  I've 
seen  no  woman  in  this  city  that  is  your  equal  in  beauty. 
You  were  born  for  this  life.  Now  do  you  understand 
what  I  mean?  I  say,  you  can  carry  it  off!" 

She  turned  to  him,  another  woman,  changing  on 
the  instant,  something  in  her  eyes  he  had  never  seen 
before.  But  in  his  own  eyes  there  was  at  the  time 
nothing  save  the  original  calm  and  purposefulness. 

"As  I  was  saying,  then,  since  we  can  both  carry  it 
off,  why  not  do  so  for  an  hour  or  so  ?  I've  read  some 
where  of  masquerades.  Why  not  try  it  ?" 

She  turned  to  him,   flushed,   radiant,   but   slightly 


JOHN   RAWN 

frowning,  puzzled,  studying  him.  Rawn  felt  the  query 
of  her  look,  felt  also  something  stirring  down  in  his 
nature  which  he  grappled  at  once  and  was  able  to 
suppress.  His  voice  was  cool  and  low  as  it  was 
before. 

"It's  a  big  crowd  below,  and  we'll  be  lost  in  it.  I've 
learned  already  that  you  can  be  discreet.  We'll  drop 
down  in  there,  where  no  one  knows  us.  We'll  try  our 
selves  out,  and  see  whether  we'll  do,  here  where  the  test 
is  hardest.  You're  ambitious?  So  am  I.  This  is  the 
heart  of  the  world — the  place  of  gratified  ambitions. 
What  do  you  say,  Miss  Delaware?  I've  been  looking 
around  down  there,  and  as  nearly  as  I  can  see,  I'm 
the  only  man  in  this  avenue  worth  a  million  dollars 
who  at  this  precise  moment  of  the  day  isn't  talking  to 
some  good-looking  woman!" 

"You  flatter  me !"  commented  the  girl.  He  did  not 
endeavor  any  analysis. 

"Not  in  the  least !  I  simply  talk  sense  and  business 
to  you.  I  covet  what  you  covet,  love  what  you  love, 
want  what  you  want.  Things  which  are  equal  to  the 
same  thing  ought  to  be  equal  to  each  other — for  just 
a  little  while,  Miss  Delaware.  Isn't  it  true?  If  it  is 
only  play,  why,  let's  play  at  it. 

"I  forgot  to  tell  you,"  he  added,  "that  my  son-in- 
law,  Mr.  Halsey,  has  gone  back  to  Chicago.  He  was 
summoned  by  wire.  No  one  else  knows  us  both. 
There  wouldn't  be  one  chance  in  many  of  our  being 
seen  by  any  one  here  who  knew  either  of  us,  and 
if  so,  what  harm?  We'll  go  and  dine  as  well  as  the 
best  of  them,  in  the  main  room.  What  do  you  say, 
Miss  Delaware?" 


IN   PROPER   PERSON  191 


She  stood  facing  him  now,  seeming  years  older  than 
she  had  a  few  moments  before.  A  very  skilled  ob 
server  might  possibly  have  suspected  a  certain  new 
quality  in  the  calmness  of  her  eye.  Beautiful  she  cer 
tainly  was;  alluring,  irresistible  in  the  ancient  appeal 
of  woman,  she  certainly  ought  to  have  been,  and 
would  have  been  to  any  but  this  particular  man  who 
now  stood  facing  her,  half  smiling;  a  man  of  middle 
age,  gray  about  the  temples,  of  heavy-browed  eyes, 
strongly  lined  face,  of  strong  and  bony  frame;  not  an 
ill-looking  or  unmanly  man  one  might  have  said, 
though  years  older  than  this  young  woman  who  stood 
now  threading  between  her  fingers  the  filmy  moon 
shine  chain  which  suspended  the  points  of  flame  that 
rose  and  fell  upon  her  bosom. 

At  last  she  said,  hesitating,  and  holding  up  the  flam 
ing  pendant,  "I'm  not  to  keep  them  ?" 

"No,  Marguerite!"  he  smiled.  "This  particular 
Papa  Faust  retains  a  string  on  those  jewels.  They 
have  been  seen-  elsewhere,  my  dear  girl.  No,  one 
night's  use  of  them  is  all  this  business  proposition  car 
ries,  my  dear." 

He  began  to  be  just  a  shade  more  familiar;  but  she 
looked  at  him,  still  curiously  helpless,  because  she 
found  him  strong  where  most  men  are  weak  and  de 
fenseless.  He  caught  some  sort  of  challenge  in  her  at 
titude  and  in  spite  of  himself  trod  a  half  step  forward. 
.  .  .  She  evaded  him.  He  heard  her  laughter  rip 
pling  in  the  hall,  and  followed.  .  .  .  Soon  they  were 
in  the  crowded  lift,  packed  in  against  shirt  front  and 


192  JOHN    RAWN 

aigrette,  silks  and  jewels,  arms  and  bosoms  bared  for 
the  evening's  fray. 

XI 

It  may  be  true  that  no  gentleman  is  grown  in  less 
than  three  generations,  but  it  is  not  the  case  that  it 
requires  three  generations  to  produce  an  aristocrat; 
and  here  was  simple  and  perfect  proof  of  that  asser 
tion.  Head  waiters  make  no  mistakes !  The  head- 
waiter  of  the  main  hall  unhesitatingly  took  John  Rawn 
and  his  companion  to  as  good  a  table  as  there  was  in 
the  room.  He  knew  the  air  of  distinction  when  he 
saw  it! 

Heads,  in  plenty,  of  men  and  other  women,  turned 
as  they  passed  through  in  that  careless  throng  of  the 
world-wise  and  blase.  They  walked  by  quietly,  simply, 
took  their  places  with  no  ostentation.  John  Rawn  had 
bethought  him  earlier  as  to  the  dinner  order.  He  gave 
his  directions'  now  quietly,  without  hesitation. 

The  two  ate  and  drank  discreetly,  comported  them 
selves,  in  fact,  easily  as  any  of  these  scores  of  others. 
They  did  not  lean  toward  each  other  and  obviously 
talk  secrets,  they  did  not  laugh  uneasily  and  stare 
about.  Among  the  many  well-bred  women  in  that 
room — where  at  least  a  few  such  were  present — none 
showed  an  easier  accustomedness  than  Virginia  Dela 
ware.  Her  eagerness,  her  feverish  anxiety,  all  now 
were  gone.  She  was  perfectly  in  hand.  It  was  her 
pleasure  now  only  to  prove  her  fitness  for  such  a  scene, 
to  comport  herself  as  though  she  had  known  no  other 
surroundings  than  these  in  all  her  life.  Once  more 
the  miracle  of  possibility  in  the  young  American 
woman  was  shown. 


IN   PROPER   PERSON  193 

Rawn,  discreet  as  his  companion,  looked  on  with 
approval.  "You're  it!"  he  once  whispered  across  the 
table,  as  he  bent  above  the  menu.  "You  are  the  part !" 
Suddenly  there  came  to  him  out  of  this  occasion  an 
additional  surge  of  self-confidence.  Yes,  he  said  to 
himself,  he,  too,  could  travel  this  gait.  He  could  step 
easily  into  this  life,  the  summit  of  life  in  America — 
as  he  thought — as  though  born  to  it.  He  could  spend 
money  with  the  best.  He  could  obtain  for  himself  as 
beautiful  a  woman  to  wear  his  jewels  as  any  man  here 
in  all  this  great  city.  He  could  as  widely  advertise 
his  power,  his  wealth,  as  any  of  these.  Did  he  not 
see  envious  eyes  bent  upon  his  companion  and  upon 
himself?  It  was  done!  He  had  won!  He  had  suc 
ceeded  ! 

XII 

After  all,  it  had  been  easy,  as  he  had  found  so  many 
things  easy  in  the  test.  As  to  the  young  woman  with 
him,  John  Rawn's  cold  heart  went  out  in  admiration. 
"By  Jove !"  he  said,  "she's  a  lady,  that's  what  she  is. 
She'd  be — "  Yet  it  is  to  be  noted  that  his  admiration 
for  this  young  woman  was  primarily  based  not  upon 
the  usual  impulses  of  men  so  situated,  but  upon  a 
vast  self-respect,  for  that  he  had  placed  her  here  and 
so  proved  his  own  judgment  to  be  good.  Some  souls 
are  slow  to  any  love  but  that  of  self,  the  approbation 
of  self  being  the  breath  of  life  to  them.  Even  the 
beauty  of  Virginia  Delaware — and  she  was  beautiful — 
was  swallowed  up  in  John  Rawn's  love  and  admira 
tion  for  himself. 

There  was,  thus  far,  no  suggestion  of  impropriety 
between  them,  now  or  later.  They  dined  long,  de- 


194  JOHN   RAWN 

liberately  and  well.  Miss  Delaware  drank  no  wine, 
Rawn  himself  only  abstemiously.  The  keenest  delight 
of  the;  evening  felt  by  either  came  not  of  food  or 
drink.  The  intoxication  of  the  city's  night  life  fell 
upon  them,  entered  their  souls.  Distant  and  low- 
voiced  musical  instruments  set  the  air  athrob  with 
sensuous  melody.  Flowers  bloomed,  jewels  blazed,  soft 
voices  rose,  wine  added  its  stimulus  here  and  there. 
But  beyond  this  luxury,  this  sensuousness,  beyond  the 
novelty  of  it,  beyond  the  vague  impulses  of  a  common 
humanity  which  runs  through  all  the  world,  they  felt 
the  last  and  subtle  delight  which  comes  with  an  ad 
mitted  assuredness  of  self — the  consciousness  of  power 
and  ability  to  prevail,  the  certainty  of  knowing  all  the 
path,  all  the  full  orbit  of  the  great. 


XIII 

As  they  sat  thus  calmly,  apparently,,  as  most  might 
have  said,  old  habitues  of  scenes  like  this,  apparently 
persons  of  wealth  and  distinction,  Rawn  felt  once 
more  bent  upon  him  the  look  of  a  passer-by.  There 
approached  the  table  where  they  sat  the  couple  he  had 
seen  earlier  that  evening,  a  stately  and  beautiful  young 
woman,  whose  features  now  were  a  trifle  more  ani 
mated,  whose  eyes  were  brighter;  and  with  her  the 
same  dyspeptic  director,  sallow,  with  pointed  dark 
beard.  His  face  flushed  still  more  as  he  saw  John 
Rawn  and  his  companion.  He  turned  an  admiring 
gaze  upon  the  latter,  whom  of  course  he  did  not  recog 
nize.  Rawn  caught  the  gaze.  It  was  the  keenest  de 
light  of  his  evening  that  he  could  smile  back,  showing 
his  own  teeth  also. 


IN   PROPER   PERSON  195 

"By  Jove!"  muttered  the  ex-director  to  himself. 

"I  beg  pardon!"  haughtily  commented  his  own  fair 
companion,  who  had  caught  his  gaze  aside.  "You 
know  that  person?  Who  is  she?" 

"I  don't  know,  my  dear — I'm  just  trying  to  think. 
Her  face — it  looks  like  the  goddess  on  some  stock 
certificate  I've  seen — " 

"Indeed?" 

"Yes,  goddess  with  a  handful  of  lightning  bolts." 

"Indeed?" 

"Yes.  We  might  call  her  the  'Lady  of  the  Light 
nings'  to-night.  She  surely  does  shine  like  the  bright 
and  morning  star,  the  way  she's  illuminated — eh, 
what?" 

"Indeed?" 

"Well,  hang  it  all!  Yes.  She's  a  looker,  too !" 

"Indeed?" 

"Yes,  indeed!  And  they  both  look  like  ready 
money."  The  ex-director  gave  a  little  laugh. 

"You  don't  know  them?"  asked  his  companion, 
more  placated  as  they  reached  the  corridor,  where  Vir 
ginia  Delaware  was  at  last  out  of  sight. 

"No,  I  don't  know  her — never  saw  her  before,  un 
less,  as  I  said,  in  an  engraving.  Don't  worry — 7 
haven't  got  any  of  the  engravings — now." 

"Who  is  he?" 

"Fellow  by  name  of  Rawn,  from  Chicago." 

"Oh!" 


CHAPTER  VII 

JOHN    RAWN,    PROMINENT.    CITIZEN 


THE  blare  and  blaze  of  American  life  went  on  in  all 
its  capitals  of  industry.  Buildings  sprang  up,  fac 
tories  poured  their  smoke  unceasingly  into  the  sky. 
Men  ran  hither  and  thither  like  ants,  busy  about  what 
seemed  to  them  of  importance.  Vast  hives  of  heaped- 
up  stone  twice  daily  poured  out  their  population  of 
small  creatures,  some  of  them  crippled,  hurt,  shorn  in 
the  battle  of  life,  their  faces  pale,  their  forms  bowed 
and  stunted  before  their  time.  Out  of  the  rich  West 
poured  always  a  steady  stream  of  the  products  of  the 
soil  and  of  the  mines,  wealth  unspeakable,  dug  from 
the  resources  of  this  admirable  country  of  ours.  Many 
produced  it,  a  few  controlled  it,  all  required  it. 

But  there  came  a  sort  of  hush  over  all  the  country, 
as  though  an  eclipse  were  passing,  or  some  gloom  cast 
by  a  cloud  coming  between  these  cities  and  the  sun. 
Men  said  that  business  was  not  so  good  as  it  should  be, 
though  the  country  was  richer  than  ever.  None  un 
derstood  the  popular  unrest.  Many  pondered,  many  at 
tempted  to  explain,  but  they  found  all  save  the  easy 
and  obvious  explanation.  The  masses  remained 
mjorose,  dissatisfied.  Pamphlets  appeared.  In  the 


JOHN   RAWN,   PROMINENT   CITIZEN     197 

journals  pretending  to  give  voice  to  popular  trend  of 
thought  there  were  now  to  be  seen  many  screeds  from 
many  unknown  men.  Some  men  said  that  prices  should 
rise,  others  that  rates  of  transportation  should  rise, 
but  that  wages  should  decrease.  Others  said  that  wages 
should  increase — a  few  only  of  these,  not  many;  for 
those  who  needed  most  a  larger  wage  were  those  most 
dumb  of  expression,  least  able  and  least  apt  to  make 
any  public  protest.  Our  proudest  may  be  our  poorest 
— our  neediest  our  most  silent. 


ii 

In  John  Rawn's  slowly  growing  factories  near  the 
western  capital  wages  did  not  rise.  He  kept  on  his 
fight  with  the  labor  organizations.  For  this  reason 
he  met  additional  expense  and  additional  delay  in  car 
rying  on  his  plans,  but  still  waged  war,  relaxing  not 
at  all,  meeting  pickets  with  policemen,  force  with 
force.  The  popular  discontent  of  the  day  meant  noth 
ing  to  him.  His  eye  was  fixed  ahead.  To  Halsey's 
complaints  on  the  one  side,  his  directors'  discreet 
grumbling  on  the  other,  he  paid  as  little  attention  on 
the  one  hand  as  upon  the  other.  John  Rawn  had  a 
dream,  and  he  knew  that  his  dream  must  come  true. 
His  dream  was  one  of  a  wide-reaching  and  relentless 
power,  shared  by  those  few  men  destined  by  fate  to 
own  the  so-called  American  republic.  Let  the  people 
do  what  they  would,  all  they  could.  This  was  his 
dream.  It  had  come  to  him  in  all  its  fullness  one  even 
ing  in  the  great  city  of  the  East.  He  exulted. 

As  to  the  industrial  situation  in  International  Power, 
Rawn  now  began  to  prove  himself  a  good  business 


198  JOHN   RAWN 

man,  and  he  received  more  and  more  the  grudged  con 
fidence  of  his  associates,  who  came  from  almost  every 
rank  of  big  business.  Through  the  aid  and  advice  of 
these,  his  private  fortune  began  to  mount  up  enor 
mously.  So  also  did  International  Power  make  money. 
The  only  sore  place  of  the  directors'  overstrained 
nerves  centered  in  affairs  at  the  gaunt  building  in  the 
suburb,  wThere  a  dozen  mysterious  machines,  toothed 
and  armed,  cogged  and  coiled,  still  stood  in  a  state  of 
half-completion,  as  inchoate  and  mysterious  now  as 
they  had  been  at  their  inception.  None  of  the  work 
men,  none  of  the  foremen,  could  guess  what  they 
would  look  like  when  completed. 

There  was  something  else,  which  not  the  most  sus 
picious  guessed — John  Raivn  himself  did  not  know! 
His  success  was  a  vast  bubble.  Halsey  was  the  only 
man  who  ever  had  known  the  full  secret  of  mantling 
one  of  the  miraculous  receivers  which  they  all  had  seen 
and  all  had  accepted.  Rawn,  bold  enough,  kept  this 
to  himself,  although  he  feared  to  go  to  Halsey  and 
make  any  demands.  Halsey  held  grim  peace  for 
months — indeed,  for  more  than  four  years  in  all,  count 
ing  from  the  first  motor  made  in  the  Kelly  Row  wood 
shed.  It  was  risky,  but  for  once  Rawn  dared  make  no 
desperate  move.  Halsey  talked  little.  He  was  very 
sad  since  the  birth  of  his  hunchbacked  child.  Some 
times  he  talked  to  Virginia  Delaware  about  it ;  never  to 
his  wife,  Grace. 

And  still  the  seven  days'  wonder  of  International 
Power  remained  to  puzzle  the  industrial  world.  No 
inkling  of  the  real  intention  of  the  company  ever  got 
out.  There  was,  as  Rawn  had  predicted,  no  market 
for  the  stock,  for  the  reason  that  it  was  not  listed  and 


JOHN    RAWN,    PROMINENT    CITIZEN      199 

for  the  further  reason  that  it  was  not  sold.  It  was 
held  in  a  close  communion  of  hard-headed  and  close- 
mouthed  men,  and  there  were  no  confidences  betrayed. 
The  thing  was  too  big  to  conform  to  ordinary  rules. 
In  the  center  of  all  this  stood  the  figure  of  John  Rawn, 
suddenly  grown  large  and  strong.  He  ruled  his  army, 
officers,  staff  and  line,  cavalry,  infantry  and  auxiliaries, 
as  one  born  originally  to  command.  He  brooked 
neither  parleying  nor  thwarting  of  his  will — except  in 
one  instance.  He  never  made  any  demands  on  Halsey, 
never  gave  him  any  peremptory  orders  after  that  one 
day  in  the  office,  months  earlier,  before  Halsey  made 
his  first  trip  to  New  York. 


in 

These  months  seemed  to  have  aged  John  Rawn, 
none  the  less.  He  grew  grimmer  and  grayer,  more 
taciturn  and  reserved.  At  the  clubs  he  was  one  of  the 
most  talked-of  men  in  town,  and  one  who  talked  least 
himself.  As  his  hair  grew  grayer  at  the  temples,  his 
jaw  grew  harder,  at  the  corner  of  his  chin  coming  the 
triangular  wrinkles  which  go  with  hard-faced  middle 
age.  Enigmatic,  self-centered,  he  could  not  have  been 
called  a  happy  man.  He  smiled  but  rarely,  joked  not 
at  all,  engaged  in  no  badinage,  told  no  stories,  found 
no  lighter  side  of  life,  played  no  golf,  had  no  vaca 
tions.  Like  some  vast  engine  of  tremendous  driving 
power  he  went  on  his  way,  admired  in  a  city  ana 
country  full  of  able  men,  as  one  competent  to  hold  his 
own  with  the  best  and  strongest  of  them  all.  And  still 
of  all  his  traits  stood  out  the  one  of  self-confidence. 
He  played  a  game  of  enormous  and  continuous  risk — 


200  JOHN    RAWN 

fundamental  risk  by  reason  of  Halsey,  incidental  by 
reason  of  his  widely  ballooned  market  operations ;  yet 
his  nerve  held.  Moreover,  he  was  learning  the  price 
of  success — an  absolute  devotion  to  the  means  of  suc 
cess.  When  he  learned  that  the  child  of  his  daughter 
was  not  a  son,  but  a  girl,  and  that  it  was  a  hunchback 
for  life,  a  sad-faced,  unsmiling  child — he  set  his  jaws 
for  a  moment,  but  said  few  words  of  condolence, 
either  to  his  daughter  or  her  husband.  He  did  not 
smile  for  three  months  after  that,  and  never  referred 
to  this  subject  again,  after  its  first  discussion  with  his 
wife  at  Graystone  Hall ;  but  it  cost  him  no  time  and  no 
energy  lost  from  business.  It  only  deepened  in  his 
soul  his  growing  hatred  for  Charley  Halsey,  the  man 
whom  he  dared  not  chide. 


IV 

In  the  headquarter  offices  a  vast,  smooth  running 
business  machine  had  now  been  built  up.  Rawn  was 
an  organizer.  The  laxness  and  looseness  of  the  old 
railway  offices  in  St.  Louis,  where  he  had  got  his  busi 
ness  schooling,  were  missing  in  the  headquarters  of 
International  Power.  Employees  had  small  time  to  gos 
sip  in  business  hours.  Out  of  business  hours,  it  is  to 
be  confessed,  once  in  a  while  there  was  discussion  as 
to  the  salary  of  Miss  Virginia  Delaware,  which  was  re 
ported  a  wholly  instable  affair.  It  was  rumored  in 
stenographic  circles  that  she  had  taken  to  wearing  very 
stunning  evening  gowns.  Yet  not  the  most  captious — • 
though  willingness  did  not  lack — could  raise  voice 
against  her,  or  couple  her  name  with  any  other.  Rawn 
and  she  were  never  seen  together  excepting  during 


JOHN    RAWN,    PROMINENT    CITIZEN     201 

business  hours;  he  never  mentioned  her  name  in  any 
company.  Once  or  twice  a  laughing  voice  at  the  Na 
tional  Union,  where  rich  men  met  in  numbers,  tried  to 
create  some  sort  of  discussion  over  Rawn's  beautiful 
private  secretary,  but  it  was  so  suddenly  stopped  by 
Rawn  himself  that  it  never  was  resumed. 

Upon  the  other  hand,  few  could  speak  in  definite 
knowledge  regarding  the  domestic  matters  of  John 
Rawn.  He  was  a  man  of  mystery,  though  one  of 
known  and  admitted  power.  He  held  what  he  gained ; 
and,  as  there  must  have  been  accorded  to  him  strength 
of  soul,  grasp,  readiness,  courage,  he  began  to  be  ac 
cepted  as  one  of  the  large  figures  of  his  day  alike  in 
industry  and  finance.  He  had  by  this  time  fully  arrived 
in  the  prominent  citizen  class  in  his  chosen  metrop 
olis.  Did  firemen  perish,  John  Rawn  joined  the  list 
of  those  who  aided  the  widows.  Was  some  neighbor 
ing  city  swept  by  flames,  again  he  joined — on  the  front 
page  of  the  papers — those  who  gave  succor  for  the 
needy.  Did  a  famine  in  India  or  China  sweep  off  a  mil 
lion  souls,  John  Rawn — on  the  front  page — aided  the 
survivors.  He  was  a  member  of  the  leading  clubs  of 
the  city,  a  director  of  the  board  of  the  art  institute.  He 
bought  if  he  did  not  occupy  a  box  at  the  opera,  and  al 
lowed  his  name  to  be  mentioned  at  the  banquets  offered 
by  eager  souls  to  celebrities  of  one  sort  or  another  who 
proved  themselves  amenable  to  receptions,  banquets, 
addresses  of  welcome,  and  what-not,  anything  to  bring 
lesser  names  into  print  on  any  page,  tails  to  any  kite. 
In  short,  John  Rawn  comported  himself  as  a  promi 
nent  citizen  should.  Ever  he  was  the  kite,  never  the 
tail.  He  loomed  a  large  and  growing  figure  in  his  little 
.world. 


202  JOHN   RAWN 


Above  all,  there  seemed  something  uncanny  in  the 
unvarying  facility  with  which  Rawn  made  money. 
There  is  no  real  explanation  of  the  difference  in 
money-making  power,  except  that  some  men  make 
money  and  some  do  not.  Rawn  did,  without  any 
doubt  or  question.  Not  lacking  ability  and  calmness 
in  judgment,  and  not  lacking  full  information  such  as 
is  accorded  those  said  to  be  upon  the  sacred  inside  of 
the  market,  he  was  in  and  out  of  Rubber,  Coppers, 
Steel,  at  precisely  the  right  time.  His  oil  investments 
in  California,  played  up  and  down  in  proper  symphony, 
had  made  him  more  than  a  million  dollars,  smoothly, 
easily,  simply.  The  railways  market  was  an  open  book 
to  him,  and  Public  Utilities  seemed  something  he  could 
gage  while  others  stood  and  wondered.  There  are 
times  when  some  men  win.  Rawn  could  not  lose, 
whether  he  dealt  in  Ontario  Silvers,  Arizona  Coppers, 
anything  he  liked.  He  was  in  with  the  pack  when,  in 
these  last  fierce  days  of  individual  and  corporate  greed, 
it  finished  pulling  down  a,  republic,  and  battened, 
guzzled  at  the  bowels  of  the  quarry.  He  partook  with 
these  of  a  broad  knowledge  of  the  narrowing  raw  re- 
'sources  of  the  country,  and  was  in  with  them  at  the 
death.  He  was  one  of  those  to  get  hold  of  large 
acreages  of  the  passing  timber  lands,  he  was  counted 
with  those  who  sought  the  great  coal  fields  for  their 
own;  ran  true  to  scent,  with  these,  the  trail  of  mon 
opoly  in  any  commodity  which  the  people  more  and 
more  must  need.  In  the  one  matter  of  his  relations 
with  a  certain  transcontinental  railway,  Rawn  made  a 
quarter  million  as  his  share  of  the  three-quarters  of  a 


JOHN   RAWN,   PROMINENT   CITIZEN     203 

billion  taken  in  sales  of  mineral  lands  from  the  rail 
way's  land-grant  holdings.  That  the  grants  had  cov 
ered  only  agricultural  lands  mattered  little,  for  when 
the  sleepy  government  at  Washington  reluctantly  took 
the  trail,  it  was  shown  a  law,  cunningly  passed  a  few 
years  earlier,  which  barred  the  republic,  by  virtue  of  a 
six-year  statute  of  limitations,  from  recovering  any  of 
its  own  property !  John  Rawn  often  laughed  over 
that.  He  laughed  also  when  the  "suckers,"  as  they 
called  them,  bit  just  as  eagerly  at  irrigation  as  they  had 
at  mines.  He  often  laughed — it  was  all  so  ridiculously 
easy  to  pull  down  a  country,  when  the  running  was  in 
good  company !  He  was  a  prominent  citizen. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

A  PRINCELY  GENEROSITY 


MR.  RAWN  went  on  with  the  pack.  He  was  in 
and  out  of  the  market.  His  money  grew.  His 
ambition  also  grew.  He  felt  coming  now  upon  him 
another  change.  He  said  to  himself  that  he  was  now 
about  to  pass  up,  into  yet  another  era  of  his  develop 
ment. 

One  day,  after  his  usual  day's  routine,  he  closed 
his  office  door,  took  his  car  at  the  curb,  dropped  in  at 
his  club,  imbibed  the  two  cocktails  which  were  now  his 
evening  wont,  and  again  emerging,  nodded  to  his 
chauffeur  in  the  fashion  which  meant  "Home !"  They 
passed  on  out  again  through  the  floating  crowd  of 
various  and  often  vulgar  vehicles,  northbound — shriek 
ing  aloud  in  a  vast  united  chorus,  demanding  speed, 
speed,  and  yet  more  speed — along  the  throbbing 
arteries  of  the  city's  population.  At  last  he  stopped 
once  more  at  the  front  of  Graystone  Hall.  "Forty-five 
minutes,  Dennis,"  said  he  to  his  driver,  snapping  his 
watch.  "Twenty-one  miles;  you'll  learn  it  after  a 
while." 

Mr.  Rawn  was  in  exceptional  good  humor.  He  was 
at  peace  with  the  world  and  with  his  conscience.  He 
looked  about  him  now  calmly,  with  approbation  in  his 
gaze.  His  gardeners  had  done  wonders.  The  walks 

204 


A   PRINCELY   GENEROSITY  205 

were  solid  and  well  kept,  the  greensward  sound  and 
flourishing.  These  late  stubbed  and  desolate  trees 
were  now  wide,  green  and  branching.  The  crocus 
borders  were  unbroken,  the  formal  monochrome  beds, 
here  and  there  upon  the  lawn,  showed  clean-cut  and 
distinct.  The  tall  pillars  of  his  motley  house  even  had 
a  green  veiling  of  ivy,  swiftly  grown  by  art,  and  not  by 
time.  Oni  a  terrace  a  bed  of  foliage  plant,  thirty  feet 
long,  grew  in  the  shape  of  a  word — a  magic  word — » 
"Rown"  If  any  passer-by  wished  knowledge  as  to 
the  creator  of  all  this,  he  might  read  as  he  ran — 
"Raum." 

Rawn  passed  up  the  steps  and  looked  out  through 
the  long  hallway  from  the  rear  of  the  house,  or  rather 
its  real  front,  which  lay  upon  the  lake  shore.  Beyond, 
he  could  see  the  faint  curl  of  the  distant  steamers' 
smoke  against  the  horizon.  He  stopped  for  a  moment, 
drinking  in  the  scene,  of  which  he  never  tired.  There 
were  birds  twittering  softly  in  the  trees  about  him.  He 
caught  the  breath  of  flowers,  coming  to  him  from  the 
halls  within.  Yes,  it  was  an  abode  suited  for  a  prom 
inent  citizen. 

There  came  to  meet  him  now  the  quiet  footfall  which 
he  had  come  to  expect,  not  always  patiently  or  with 
pleasure,  as  the  natural  end  of  his  day's  labors;  his 
wife,  Laura,  had  never  forgotten  this  daily  greeting 
of  the  old-fashioned  wife  to  her  husband,  as  the  latter 
returned  at  the  close  of  his  day's  labor. 


II 

He  stopped  as  he  heard  her  slow  tread  upon  the 
stair.    She  was  coming  to  meet  him.     She  always  did. 


206  JOHN   RAWN 

He,  John  Rawn,  controller  of  men,  a  man  born  to  suc 
ceed  and  going  yet  higher,  had  only,  after  all,  an  old- 
fashioned  wife! 

It  was  an  emergency  this  evening.  He  was  accus 
tomed  to  meet  emergencies.  He  had  come  to-night 
prepared  to  meet  this  one. 

"Laura,"  said  he,  after  the  servants  had  drawn  the 
curtains  and  left  them  alone  in  the  central  room, 
whither  they  had  repaired  after  dinner ;  "sit  down  here, 
I  want  to  talk  to  you  a  while." 

"Yes,  John,"  said  she  quietly.  But  she  looked  at 
him  startled.  Her  face  grew  suddenly  grave.  Be 
sure  the  brute  advancing  to  the  poll-ax  knows  its  fate. 
That  was  the  look  in  Laura  Rawn's  face  now.  "Yes, 
John,"  she  said,  knowing  what  blow  was  to  be  hers. 

He  motioned  her  to  a  seat  beyond  the  little  table 
and  seated  himself  opposite.  Reaching  into  a  bulging 
pocket,  he  brought  out  a  thick  bundle  of  folded  papers ; 
long,  narrow  papers,  most  of  them  green,  others  brown, 
or  pale  pink.  He  pushed  this  bundle  across  the  table, 
so  that  his  wife  must  see  it.  She  reached  out  a  hand, 
but  did  not  look  at  it. 

"What  is  it,  John  ?"  she  said.  Her  hand  tarried,  her 
face  went  still  more  weary  and  gray,  became  even  of 
an  ashier  pallor  than  was  its  wont. 

"It's  a  trifle,  Laura,"  said  John  Rawn.  "Look  at 
it.  There's  bonds  and  gilt-edge  dividend-payers  for 
just  exactly  one  million  dollars!" 

"One  million  dollars,  John!    What  do  you  mean?" 

"Look  at  it,  see  for  yourself." 

"But,  John — what  does  it  mean?" 

"It  means  a  great  deal,  Mrs.  Rawn,  a  great  deal  for 


A   PRINCELY   GENEROSITY.  207 

you.  It  took  some  work  to  make  it  on  my  part.  There 
are  not  ten  men  in  this  town  to-day  who  could  draw 
out  of  their  business  clean,  unhypothecated  securities 
for  a  million  dollars.  I've  seen  to  it  that  all  these  are 
registered  in  your  name.  It's  my  gift  to  you,  without 
reservation." 

"John,  how  could  I  thank  you — but  I  don't  want  it ! 
I've  not  earned  it,  I  wouldn't  know  what  to  do  with  it. 
You're  always  so — so  kind,  John,  with  me.  But  I 
can't  take  it !  It's  not  mine !" 

"It  is  yours,  Laura.    And  youVe  got  to  take  it !" 

"But  I  don't  want  to!" 

"I  want  no  foolishness,"  he  said  sternly.  "That 
money  is  yours.  You  can  use  it  as  you  like.  Of 
course,  I  will  counsel  with  you  as  to  reinvestment  the 
best  I  can.  I  don't  want  to  see  the  interest  wasted. 

"I  don't  ever  want  to  see  you  in  need,"  he  went  on. 
"I  don't  counsel  loose  investments.  My  lawyers  will 
also  tell  you  what  to  do  with  your  money,  and  they'll 
put  up  to  you  a  list  of  good,  safe,  savings-bank  invest 
ments,  the  kind  that  fools  and  sailors  ought  to  have. 
I'll  help  you  choose,  if  you  like.  I  don't  want  to  be 
ungenerous.  This  is  your  estate." 


in 

"My  estate! — But,  John,  I'm  your  wife!  I  don't 
care  for  this  money.  I  don't  understand  it,  and  I  don't 
want  it.  I  want  to  be  your  wife,  John,  the  way  I  al 
ways  was — I  want  to  help — I  want  to  be  useful  to  you 
all  the  time,  as  I've  always  tried  to  be." 

"Precisely,  Laura,  and  I  appreciate  that  feeling  very 


208  JOHN   RAWN 

much.  I  feel  the  same  way.  I  want  to  be  as  useful 
as  I  can  to  you.  Wq  have  always  been  loyal  to  each 
other,  faithful  with  each  other;  I  know  that.  There 
are  not  ten  men  worth  my  money  in  this  town  to-day 
who  can  say  what  I  can — that  they've  been  faithful  to 
their  wives  as  I  have  been  to  mine.  You've  been  a 
good  woman,  and  you've  worked  hard.  You  say  you 
haven't  earned  this  money,  but  I  think  you  have. 
We've  been  useful,  yes,  to  each  other.  But  when  we 
can't  be  any  more,  Laura,  why  then — " 

The  tears  burst  from  her  eyes  now.  He  frowned, 
that  she  should  interrupt  him,  but  went  on. 

''It  shall  never  be  said  that  I  was  unkind  to  you, 
Laura.  Indeed,  I  shall  always  feel  kindly  to  you — 
always  remember  what  you  have  done." 

"But  you  don't,  you  don't,  John !" 

"I  don't  ?  What  do  you  mean  by  that,  Laura  ?  Isn't 
there  the  proof?  Isn't  there  a  million  dollars  lying 
right  in  front  of  you  on  that  table?  And  you  say  this 
to  me,  who  have  just  given  you  a  cold  million!" 

"That's  it,  it's  a  cold  million,  John,"  said  she  bitterly. 
"It's  cold!" 

"Good  God !  The  unreasonableness  of  woman !" 
said  John  Rawn,  upturning  his  eyes.  "Now  I've 
thought  all  this  out  as  carefully  as  a  man  can.  I've 
denied  myself,  to  take  this  much  capital  out  of  my 
investments  and  set  it  aside  for  you.  I  can  make  five 
millions  out  of  that  money  in  the  next  five  years.  But 
no,  I  reserve  it,  and  I  give  it  to  you  without  stint.  I 
give  it  to  you  for  your  estate,  so  that  you  shall  never 
know  want — more  money  than  you  ever  had  a  right  to 
dream  of  having.  You  do  that  for  a  woman,  and  what 
does  she  say  ?  Why,  she  doesn't  want  it !  Good  God !" 


A   PRINCELY   GENEROSITY  209 


IV 

"John,"  she  said,  struggling  for  her  self-control, 
"you  might  at  least  tell  the  truth." 

"What  do  you  mean— the  truth?" 

"It's  some  other  woman,  of  course!" 

"I  swear  to  you,  Laura,  it's  nothing  of  tKe  sort. 
I've  been  guilty  of  no  act  with  any  one—"  But  she 
shook  her  head. 

"Don't  I  know?"  she  said.  "It's  always  another 
woman.  She's  a  young  woman,  whoever  she  is.  Why 
don't  you  come  out  and  tell  me  the  truth,  John  ?  How 
long  before  you're  going  to  be  married?"  The  tears 
were  welling  steadily  from  her  eyes,  under  the  last  of 
the  many  and  bitter  torments  which  are  so  often  a 
woman's  lot. 

"I  say  to  you  again,  Laura,  there  are  no  plans  of 
that  sort  in  my  mind !" 

"Then  how  long  will  it  be  before  our — our — "  She 
could  not  say  the  word  "divorce."  She  had  been  an 
old-fashioned  wife. 

"I've  no  plans  as  to  that.  I  was  only  wanting  to  dis 
cuss  the  matter  quietly  to-night,  without  any  dis 
turbance." 

"No,"  she  said,  "I  must  not  break  down !  Tell  me, 
when  does  it  come,  John?"  But  still  the  tears  came, 
steadily,  and  she  made  no  effort  to  stop  them. 

"When  you  like.  I  would  suggest  that  you  quietly 
go  to  some  other  place,  Laura.  That  will  be  best  for 
me.  Why — "  he  added  this  in  a  burst  of  confidence, 
" — there  wouldn't  be  twenty  people  around  town 
would  know  you'd  gone!  I  can  keep  a  close  tongue, 
and  so  can  you." 


210  JOHN   RAWN 

"But,  John,  why  should  we  ?  I've  never  crossed  you 
in  any  way.  I've  always  tried  to  do  what  you  liked. 
Why  should  we  part?  I'll  be  willing  just  to  live  along 
here  quietly.  I  can't  bear  to  think  of  going  away.  I 
like  my  things.  John,"  she  said  suddenly,  and  seem 
ingly  irrelevantly,  "who  told  you  about  all  these  things, 
these  collectors'  pieces  that  you've  been  getting  for  so 
long?" 

He  winced  with  sudden  self-revelation,  astonished 
at  this  intuition  on  her  part.  He  had  been  sincere  in 
his  statement  that  there  was  no  other  woman  in  his 
affections.  He  had  only  forgotten  that  he  had  no 
affections.  He  flushed  now,  but  tried  to  pull  together. 

"Very  well,  Laura,"  said  he ;  "you  only  prove  to  me 
what  I've  felt  for  some  time.  You  can't  understand 
me,  you  simply  are  not  up  to  my  requirements.  I'm 
willing  to  say  you'd  be  content  to  live  along  here,  just 
as  we  did  at  Kelly  Row.  I  am  not  content  to  do  any 
thing  of  the  sort.  I've  been  thinking  over  this,  study 
ing  over  it  for  some  time.  There's  the  answer."  He 
nodded  toward  the  bundle  which  lay  upon  the  table. 


"It's  no  use  trying  to  make  the  world  all  over  again, 
Laura,"  he  said  after  a  time.  "We've  both  done  our 
best,  but  our  best  didn't  tally.  We've  hung  together. 
What's  right  is  right.  Is  it  right  for  me  to  be  dragged 
down  by  your  own  limitations — ought  I  to  stop  in  my 
own  career  to  conform  to  that?  Would  that  be  right, 
now,  Laura,  for  a  man  like  me? — Is  it  right  for  any 
man?  If  you  can't  go  forward,  ought  I  to  go  back? 


A   PRINCELY   GENEROSITY  211 

If  we  can't  both  travel  the  same  gait,  whose  gait  ought 
to  govern?  Whatever  you  do,  don't  blame  me,  that's 
all.  But  you  did  blame  me — you  do  now."  A  grave 
look  sat  upon  his  face.  He  felt  himself  an  injured  man. 

"Yes,  John,"  she  said.    "I  do." 

"Of  course,  of  course!  That's  the  reward  a  man 
gets  for  loving  his  wife,  treating  you  as  I  have.  Well, 
we're  not  the  first  to  face  a  situation  of  just  this  kind. 
Things  travel  swifter  now  than  they  did  when  we  were 
children,  or  when  we  were  married.  Wliat  did  then 
will  not  do  to-day.  Why  blame  ourselves  for  that? — 
blame  the  time,  the  way  of  the  world,  the  way  things 
go  to-day.  This  country  has  changed — it  goes  faster 
every  year.  We've  got  to  keep  the  pace,  I  tell  you, 
when  we  get  into  it.  Those  who  can't  must  drop  out, 
and  that's  all  there  is  about  it.  I  was  born  for  the 
front,  and  that's  all  about  that.  Don't  blame  me.  I've 
never  blamed  you !" 

"Then,  what  do  you  blame,  John?" 

"Nothing,  I  say.  It's  the  way  life  runs.  We're 
married,  why?  Because  we  thought  we  were  to  have 
some  property  to  protect.  There  is  much  to  be  said 
in  favor  of  the  marriage  institution.  It  holds  property 
safe  under  its  contract.  Property — that's  the  sign  of 
power !  Property  is  the  only  reason  for  marriage ;  or 
for  government,  when  it  comes  to  that.  Property  is 
the  token  of  power.  I've  got  that!  But  something 
else  goes  with  it!  Why,  Laura,  when  I  look  at  us 
both  I  wonder  that  I've  been  patient  so  long,  held  back 
as  I  have  been  by  your  own  narrow  ideas.  If  you'd 
had  your  way,  you'd  have  set  up  Kelly  Row  right 
where  we  are  now !" 


212  JOHN   RAWN 

VI 

"I'm  old-fashioned,  John/'  said  she,  her  head  high, 
though  her  tears  fell  free,  "I'm  just  an  old-fashioned, 
worn-out  wife,  that's  all.  I'm  not  so  very  much,  John, 
and  I  never  thought  I  was  very  much.  I  just  did  the 
best  I  could,  all  the  time.  I  couldn't  seem  to  do  any 
more,  John.  I  don't  know  how.  I  did  my  best !" 

"We  all  do!"  said  John  Rawn  philosophically.  "We 
all  do  our  best.  But  when  our  best  isn't  good  enough 
to  keep  us  up,  we  go  down !" 

He  spoke  generously,  gravely,  judicially.  He  was 
arbiter,  in  his  own  belief,  not  husband.  The  country 
had  changed  since  they  two  had  married. 

"Yes,  there's  much  to  be  said  for  the  institution  of 
marriage,  Laura,"  he  repeated  after  a  time.  "In  fact, 
it  is  a  necessity,  as  society  is  organized.  But  divorce 
is  a  natural  corollary  of  marriage.  There  are  con 
tracts,  and  broken  contracts.  That's  all !" 

"What  is  a — a  corollary,  John  ?"  she  asked. 

"It's  a  consequence ;  it  is  something  that  follows.  I 
meant  to  say,  that  if  it  is  right  for  two  people  to  be 
married,  it  is  right  for  them  to  be  divorced  when  the 
time  comes.  It's  property,  and  the  consequences  to 
property,  which  sometimes  determine  that !" 

"But  we  said,  John,  when  we  were  married — I 
swore  it  with  all  my  heart — 'Till  death  do  us  part !'  It 
isn't  death.  I  wish  it  were!" 

"No,  it's  property,"  said  John  Rawn. 

VII 

"But  all  this  serves  no  purpose,"  he  continued.  "I 
<don't  want  to  have  you  make  this  hard  for  me !" 


A   PRINCELY   GENEROSITY  213 

"Ah,  God!  How  you've  changed,  John,  since  the 
old  times !  How  you've  changed !" 

"So  that's  it,  is  it?"  he  rejoined  bitterly,  "I've  only 
changed,  and  you're  sorry  that  I  changed.  Well,  sup 
pose  we  agree  to  that.  I  have  changed !" 

"What  do  you  want  me  to  do,  John?"  she  asked 
after  a  time,  her  breath  still,  in  spite  of  herself,  coming 
in  sobs.  "When  do  you  want  me  to  go  ?" 

"To-morrow,  Laura.    There's  no  use  waiting." 

"Very  well;  where  shall  I  go?" 

"Why,  I  don't  dictate  to  you,  Laura — I  leave  that 
all  for  you  to  determine.  You  can  be  happy  as  you  like, 
and  where  you  please.  I  would  only  suggest,  if  you 
ask  me,  that  you  take  up  a  residence  in  some  quiet 
community,  a  sort  of  place  that  seems  to  suit  you." 

"Very  well,  John;  I've  not  many  friends  here  to 
leave,  that's  true.  I've  not  been  happy  here;  I  never 
would  be.  I'll  agree  to  that  much.  I  believe  I'll  go 
back  to  our  old  town — I'd  feel  better  there !" 

"You've  good  judgment,  Laura,"  he  noted  with  ap 
probation.  "What  you  say  has  good  sense  about  it. 
Very  likely  you'd  be  more  happy  there  than  here.  But 
wherever  you  go,  don't  forget  your  old  husband,  John. 
Deep  in  my  work  as  I  shall  be,  I  will  always  think  of 
you,  Laura,  with  nothing  but  kindness.  I  want  you 
to  think  that  way  of  me — to  remember  that  I've  been 
kind  to  you,  always.  You  will,  won't  you,  dear?" 

She  did  not  seem  to  hear.  Her  face  was  bowed 
down  upon  her  arms,  flung  out  across  the  table.  She 
was  an  old-fashioned  woman,  and  still  silly  enough 
to  pray  to  the  God  who  had  placed  her  in  this  world  of 
puzzles. 

END   OF    BOOK    TWO 


BOOK  THREE 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  EXTREME  MONOGAMY  OF  MR.  RAWN 

IT  is  always  more  or  less  annoying  to  put  away  a 
wife.  Even  if  the  expense  of  the  process  be  little, 
as  in  these  modern  days  it  has  come  to  be,  and  even  if 
consent  thereto  be  mutual,  as  is  so  often  the  case,  there 
are  in  practically  all  cases  so  many  unpleasant  attend 
ant  features  as  almost  to  dispose  one  to  favor  the 
abolishment  of  the  marriage  idea,  and  to  condemn  it  as 
one  not  destined  to  survive  in  these  days  of  modern 
competition.  This,  the  more  especially  as  regards  that 
monogamic  idea  of  marriage  which  the  government  at 
Washington  harshly  seeks  to  extend  over  our  entire 
domain.  As  to  the  idea  of  polygamy,  much  may  be 
said  in  its  favor.  Thus,  if  one  be  tired  of  one  wife, 
or  bored  by  another,  in  polygamy  it  is  easy  to  shift  the 
domestic  scene  to  a  third,  and  that  in  wholly  good- 
humored  fashion.  The  idea  of  divorce  has  about  it 
something  almost  personal,  as  though  one  were  dis 
pleased  over  some  matter,  as  though  one  held  in  one's 
heart  something  actually  of  criticism,  or  dissatisfac 
tion,  or  mayhap  condemnation  of  one's  own  earlier 
judgment  in  the  selection  of  a  helpmeet. 

214 


EXTREME  MONOGAMY  OF  MR.  RAWN    215 

Again,  even  after  divorce  has  been  consummated, 
there  are  so  many  small  habits  to  be  broken,  heritage 
and  hold-over  of  relations  but  recently  sundered.  For 
instance,  if  one  has  been  accustomed  every  Friday 
evening  to  have  shoulder  of  pork  and  boiled  cabbage 
at  table,  and  if  only  one  woman  has  evinced  ability  to 
prepare  shoulder  of  pork  and  cabbage  in  the  proper 
manner,  and  if  that  woman  has  chanced  to  be  one's 
lately  current  wife,  it  is,  let  us  repeat,  an  annoying 
thing  to  find  that  that  particular  woman,  after  delib 
erately  forming  and  fostering  in  one  a  craving  for 
shoulder  of  pork  and  cabbage — after  having  estab 
lished  an  addiction,  as  it  were,  in  one's  soul  for  that 
viand — has  with  shameless  disregard  of  wifely,  duty 
and  domestic  decency  obliged  one  to  divorce  her,  per 
haps  ex  vinculOj  or  at  least  ab  mensa  et  thoro. 

And  again  there  may  be  yet  other  habits  upon  the 
one  hand  or  the  other  which  must  be  broken  or  read 
justed.  If  one's  wife — or  one  of  one's  wives — has  been 
in  the  habit  of  leaving  her  tatting  each  afternoon  on 
the  top  of  the  table  near  the  best  view  out  of  the  bow 
window,  and  if  one  sees  continually  this  abandoned 
tatting  permanently  left  there  in  the  confusion  of  her 
permanent  departure — it  is  annoying,  let  us  repeat,  to 
be  reminded  of  a  habit  to  whose  creator  we  have  said 
farewell,  it  causes  a  mental  ennui  constantly  to  be  re 
moving  tatting  or  embroidery. 

Or,  if  one's  current  wife  has  had  the  old-fashioned 
and  not  wholly  well-bred  habit  of  meeting  one  at  the 
door  of  ani  evening,  at  the  close  of  the  day's  labors — 
just  as  in  the  evening  the  cave  woman  greeted  her 
man  at  the  mouth  of  the  cave  to  ask  him  what  had 
been  the  fortune  of  the  day's  hunt — and  if  now  that 


216  JOHN    RAWN 

footfall,  ill-bred,  yet  after  all  habitual — and  was  it 
wholly  unwelcome,  after  all? — shall  have  ceased  for 
ever,  with  what  equanimity,  let  us  ask,  can  we  regard 
the  memory  of  the  woman  who  formed  that  habit  and 
handed  down  an  annoying  expectation  to  her  husband, 
impossible  of  fulfillment  after  her  departure  ? 

It  is,  as  John  Rawn  wisely  has  said,  true  that  much 
may  be  said  in  favor  of  the  idea  of  marriage ;  yet  upon 
the  other  hand,  how  very  much  there  is  that  could  be 
said  against  it,  or  at  least  against  it  as  implying  an 
unrestricted  continuance,  offering  no  change  in  asso 
ciation.  The  which  is  by  way  of  saying  something  to 
prove  John  Rawn's  excellently  philosophical  course  in 
life  to  have  been  quite  correct.  There  could  have  been 
no  doubt  as  to  the  wisdom  of  his  marrying  Laura,  his 
wife,  in  the  first  place,  no  doubt  as  to  the  wisdom  of 
continuing  the  marriage  relation  with  her  for  many 
years ;  but,  upon  the  other  hand,  it  is  obvious  that  his 
idea  of  the  timeliness  of  the  divorce  in  due  season  was 
equally  wise.  Indeed,  the  only  reservation  in  his  mind 
in  regard  to  this  latter  matter  was  one  of  censure  for 
a  woman  who,  having  entered  into  the  holy  state  of 
matrimony  with  a  gentleman  of  his  parts,  had  had  the 
temerity  to  create  in  his  soul  an  addiction  for  shoulder 
of  pork  and  cabbage;  who  had  left  her  tatting  upon 
the  table;  and  who,  departing,  had  given  no  future 
address  whither  her  tatting  might  be  sent!  Yes, 
Laura  Rawn  had  been,  without  doubt  or  question,  an 
unreasonable  and  unkind  wife. 

Above  all  it  was  wrong  for  a  woman  to  go  away  and 
leave  her  late  husband  feeling  so  much  alone.  Why 
should  he,  John  Rawn,  be  allowed  to  become  conscious 
of  a  feeling  of  lonesomeness  ?  Why  should  he  be  left 


EXTREME  MONOGAMY  OF  MR.  RAWN     217 

to  dread  the  drawing  of  the  curtains  at  night,  when 
there  remained  only  the  pound  of  the  surf  along  the 
wall,  the  wail  of  the  wind  in  the  cornice?  One 
chloroforms  a  formerly  prized  dog,  but  misses  it.  It 
is  much  the  same  way  with  the  divorced  wife.  Too 
many  unpleasant  features  attend  the  process  of  such 
separation.  Any  civilization  worth  the  name  ought  to 
devise  some  method  less  annoying  for  this  which  Mr. 
Rawn  has  so  fittingly  described  as  the  corollary  of  the 
marriage  rite.  Surely  our  boasted  age  has  its  draw 
backs,  its  shortcomings ! 

ii 

Some  men  in  such  circumstances  brood ;  some  drink ; 
others  search  out  the  other  woman  or  women.  John 
Rawn  was  cast  in  different  mold.  He  had,  in  short, 
spoken  truth  when  he  told  his  wife  that  he  had  no  new 
matrimonial  plans.  Situated  thus,  yet  handicapped 
thus  in  his  new-found  solitude,  but  a  few  days  had 
passed  before  he  sent  over  for  his  daughter,  Grace, 
and  her  husband,  Charles  Halsey;  there  being  in  his 
mind  a  plan  to  mitigate  certain  unpleasant  features  of 
his  life  as  he  now  found  it  ordered. 

He  greeted  Halsey  and  Grace  at  the  door  gravely, 
with  dignity,  when  they  came  one  evening  in  response 
to  his  invitation.  They  entered,  just  a  trifle  awed,  as 
they  always  were,  by  the  august  surroundings  of  Gray- 
stone  Hall,  so  different  from  their  own  cottage  near 
the  factory.  The  owner  of  the  place  looked  well  the 
part  of  owner  here.  John  Rawn  still  was  large  and 
strong,  the  city  had  not  yet  much  softened  his  lines. 
His  hair  now  was  whiter  about  the  temples,  but  its 
whiteness  left  his  appearance  only  the  more  dis- 


218  JOHN   RAWN 

tinguished.  You  scarce  could  have  found  in  all  the 
haunts  of  prominent  citizens  a  better  example  of  prom 
inent  citizen  than  himself,  John  Rawii. 

The  major  domo  took  the  wraps  of  the  young1  people 
and  vanished  silently.  Rawn,  waiting  for  them  in  the 
drawing-room — not  in  the  hall,  as  once  he  would  have 
done — with  dignity  motioned  them  to  places  in  his 
presence,  even  brought  a  low  chair  himself  for  the 
sad-faced,  hunchbacked  child  which  represented  the 
Rawn  succession  in  the  third  generation. 

"Go  kiss  grandpa,  Lola !"  said  Grace  to  her  daugh 
ter;  and  went  to  show  her  the  way.  But  the  child, 
turning  suddenly,  only  hid  her  face  in  her  mother's 
skirt. 

"Laura's  timid,"  apologized  the  mother.  The  disap 
proval  on  her  father's  face  was  obvious  enough.  He 
had  passed  bitter  hoursi  alone,  pondering  over  this 
child,  hesitating  whether  to  love  it  or  to  hate  it, 
whether  to  accept  it  or  to  regard  it  as  a  blot  upon  his 
life.  He  had  hoped  a  grandson,  since  he  no  longer 
might  hope  a  son  of  his  own.  This  crippled  child  was 
the  sole  Rawn  succession.  His  pendulous  lower  lip 
trembled  for  a  time  in  the  self-pity  which  now  and 
again  came  to  John  Rawn.  It  seemed  hard  enough  that 
he,  John  Rawn,  president  of  the  International  Power 
Company,  should  have  no  better  evidence  of  gratitude 
on  the  part  of  fortune.  He  hated  Halsey  all  the  more. 


in 

But  now  He  'did  not  lack  'directness.  "Grace,"  he 
said,  "I've  called  you  over  to-night  because  to-morrow, 
as  you  know,  is  Friday." 


EXTREME  MONOGAMY  OF  MR.  RAWN    219 


c.s,  Pa." 

"And  as  you  know,  Grace,  your  mother  —  that  is  to 
say,  the  late  Mrs.  Rawn,  always  had  the  way  —  in 
short,  I  may  say  that  she  induced  me  to'  depend  upon 
—  I  mean  to  say  that  always  she  had  shoulder  of  pork 
and  cabbage  for  Friday  evening.  Now,  I  am  left 
alone,  helpless  —  it  is  too  much!" 

Mr.  Rawn  made  no  attempt  wholly  to  conceal  his 
just  enaction.  "Now  look  at  me,"  he  resumed.  "Your 
mother  went  away,  and  selfishly  neglected  to  take  into 
consideration  this  habit,  or  to  provide  any  means  for 
meeting  it.  My  chef  has  tried  often  to  prepare  this 
dish.  I  must  say  he  always  has  failed." 

"Why  don't  you  write  to  Mrs.  Rawn  and  ask  her 
for  the  recipe?"  asked  young  Halsey  soberly. 

"That  is  not  practical,"  rejoined  Mr.  Rawn  icily, 
"even  did1  I  know  that  lady's  present  address;  as  I 
do  not." 

His  daughter  sat  gazing  straight  at  him,  under  her 
heavy  brows,  but  made  no  comment.  Grace  had  not 
improved  with  years.  Her  face  was  heavy,  pasty, 
her  expression  morose.  The  corners  of  her  mouth 
turned  down,  and  deep  vertical  frown-wrinkles  sat  be 
tween  her  dark  eyebrows. 

"But  I  do  not  wish  that  name  mentioned  again," 
said  John  Rawn  raising  a  hand.  "I  dismissed  that 
thought  of  asking  her  aid  as  something  unworthy  of 
me.  Let  Friday  come.  I  shall  seek  no  aid  outside  of 
those  from  whom  it  may  fitly  be  expected."  Ah,  hero  ! 

IV 

"Now,  Grace,"  he  continued  later,  turning  toward 
her,  "I  know  very  well  you're  a  good  housekeeper." 


220  JOHN    RAWN 

"She  is  that!"  Halsey  nodded.  Continually  he 
forced  himself  into  such  approval  of  his  wife  as  he 
could  compass.  Continually  he  refused  comparisons. 

"Precisely,  and  skilled  in  all  the  dishes  which  the 
late  Mrs.  Rawn  had  as  specialties.  You  do  not  know 
how  things  are  running  here,  Grace.  I  can't  get  any 
thing  done  on  time,  I'm  at  untold  expense  all  the  time, 
and  am  deprived  of  what  I  really  want.  Grace,  I  need 
a  housekeeper!" 

"Surely,  Pa.    Why  don't  you  hire  one?" 

"How  much  better  off  would  I  be  in  that  case? 
None  in  the  least.  No,  I  want  you.  You'll  have  to 
come  over  here  to  live !" 

The  young  couple  sat  gazing  at  him  for  a  time 
before  making  reply. 

"That's  impossible,  Pa,"  said  Grace.  "I  have  a 
home  of  my  own,  and  it's  more  than  twenty  miles  from 
here." 

John  Rawn  raised  a  hand.  "I  have  thought  all  that 
out.  You  reason  now,  as  so  many  do,  when  any  dis 
tinct  change  of  life  is  proposed  to  them.  You  let 
the  little  things  outweigh  the  larger  ones.  It  was  a 
fault  your  mother  had.  Now  the  large  matter,  the 
really  important  thing,  is  this — that  I  can  not  be 
allowed  to  live  on  here  in  this  way  with  all  these 
annoyances.  Too  much  depends  upon  me,  in.  business, 
for  me  to  have  the  quiet  and  peace  of  my  life  inter 
fered  with.  I've  got  to  have  a  clear  head — especially 
on  Saturday.  Now,  then,  if  you  can  step  in  here,  my 
daughter,  and  establish  in  some  measure  the  sort  of 
life  I  have  always  been  used  to,  evidently  that  is  your 
duty,  and  you  ought  not  to  balance  against  it  the  small 
inconveniences  which  that  course  would  cause  you  and 


EXTREME  MONOGAMY  OF  MR.  RAWN     221 

your  husband.  I'm  quite  sure  you  can  teach  that 
chef—'7 

"But,  Mr.  Rawn,  I've  got  to  be  at  the  factory  almost 
day  and  night !"  broke  in  Halsey. 

"Precisely.  I  do  not  mean  for  you  to  make  your 
home  here,  only  Grace.  You'll  have  to  stay  on  where 
you  are.  Of  course,  you  can  come  here  at  times  to 
report,  at  least  once  or  twice  a  week — say  Friday 
night.  Very  much  depends  on  you,  Charles.  You 
know  how  much  I  value  you,  how  much  I  rely  on  your 
services.  Really,  it  all  depends  on  you,  our  success  as 
a  company.  We've  been  very  patient,  although  I  must 
say—" 


Halsey  muttered  something  under  his  breath  and 
turned  away.  His  attitude  angered  Rawn  to  the  point 
of  forgetting  himself. 

"Never  mind  what  you  think  about  it,  young  man ! 
It's  what  /  think  about  it  that  counts.  Grace  belongs 
here,  anyhow.  She  will  have  a  wider  life  with  me.  It's 
time  she  had  some  things  which  she  has  never  known. 
It  may  be  necessary  for  us  to  travel,  to  see  something 
of  this  country  and  Europe.  Besides,  this  child  needs 
care.  All  these  things  cost  more  money  than  you  can 
afford,  young  man.  Don't  try  to  balk  me  in  what  I 
suggest.  It  is  obviously  the  right  thing  to  do." 

"But  how  long—" 

"Indefinitely!" 

"And  you  want  me  to  break  up  my  home  'indef 
initely'?  Well,  I  must  confess  I  don't  in  the  least  see 
it  that  way,  Mr.  Rawn." 

"You're   selfish,   and  that's   why  you   can't   see  it, 


222  JOHN   RAWN 

Charles.  Above  all  things  you  ought  to  avoid  the  vice 
of  selfishness.  You  are  not  parting  from  your  wife, 
but  only  helping  her  to  a  better  grade  of  living.  Mean 
time,  of  course,  your  duty  to  her  and  to  the  company 
is  to  make  a  success  of  your  work.  Think  of  your 
business,  my  son.  There  is  no  good  comes  of  selfish 
ness.  Try  to  be  just.  And  for  God's  sake,  also,  try  to 
get  one  of  those  machines  done !" 

Halsey  only  sat  and  looked  at  him  darkly  for  a 
time,  making  no  reply. 

"It  seems  to  me  that  I  can  never  get  you  to  under 
stand,  Charles,"  resumed  Rawn,  "that  things  are  not 
the  way  they  used  to  be  before  we  came  here  to  Chi 
cago.  I'm  a  bigger  man  now  than  I  was  then.  I've 
grown  these  last  two  or  three  years,  my  boy.  I  should 
not  be  surprised  if  eventually  I  were  obliged  to  make 
my  residence  in  New  York,  if  indeed  not  abroad.  We 
are  rising  in  the  world,  rising  very  fast,  Charles.  Do 
you  want  to  go  up  with  the  Rawns,  or  stay  down  with 
the  Halseys  of  this  world  ?  Besides,  in  this  case  you 
ought  to  respect  the  wishes  of  your  own  wife.  You 
want  to  remember,  my  dear  boy,  that  my  daughter, 
Grace,  is  half  Rawn  as  well  as  half  Johnson.  The  only 
trouble  with  her  is,  the  Rawn  half  has  not  yet  had  its 
innings." 

VI 

Halsey  turned  and  stared  at  his  wife.  He  found 
her  sitting  with  her  dark  eyes  fixed,  now  on  her  father, 
now  wandering  hither  and  yon  over  the  rich  surround 
ings  in  her  father's  home.  To  his  intense  surprise,  she 
had  as  yet  issued  no  veto  to  this  calm  proposal  to 
which  they  all  had  listened.  In  his  surprise  he  forgot 


EXTREME  MONOGAMY  OF  MR.  RAWN    223 

comment  of  his  own.  What  caused  him  greatest  sur 
prise  of  all  was  his  secret  feeling-  that  he  was  not  so 
reluctant  to  this  arrangement  as  he  ought  to  be!  He 
pondered  Grace,  her  sour  visage,  her  morose  air.  He 
recalled  countless  angry,  irritated,  irritating  words.  He 
looked,  and  saw  no  longer  any  feminine  charm.  It  took 
all  his  resolution  not  to  question  why  he  had  ever  made 
this  choice.  Almost  he  began  a  certain  comparison. 

"Now  let  this  end  it,"  resumed  John  Rawn.  "Let 
comforts,  and  let  luxuries,  come  where  they  have  been 
earned.  It's  the  Rawn  half  of  Grace  that  has  earned 
the  luxuries,  Charles,  if  I  am  willing  to>  give  them  to 
her.  Take  what  you  can  get,  my  son,  of  comfort  and 
luxury  in  this  life — after  you've  earned  them,.  But 
earn  them  first.  Your  place  is  over  there  at  the  works. 
This  is  your  opportunity.  Fall  in  with  my  plans  and 
I'll  carry  you  along.  Don't  try  to  hold  Grace  over 
there  when  she  belongs  here.  Don't  be  selfish, 
Charles." 

He  relented  just  a  trifle.  "I  don't  say  this  is  going 
to  last  for  ever.  Pull  off  success  over  there  for  us.  I'll 
tell  you  what  I'll  do — the  day  you  can  charge  a  storage 
battery  car  from  one  of  our  second  current  receivers 
— finished  and  in  place  there  in  the  factory — and  run 
it  from  the  factory  up  here,  I'll  make  you  a  present  of , 
fifty  thousand  dollars." 

VII 

"And  about  Grace —  ?"  Ah !  that  comparison — 
"She'll  be  a  good  deal  closer  to  you  then  than  she 
is  now.    She's  half  Rawn,  I  tell  you,  Charles ;  and  love 
in  a  cottage  does  not  suit  the  Rawn  blood  to-day ! 
"But  I'll  tell  you—"  his  face  lightened  a  bit  at  the 


224  JOHN   RAWN 

jest —  "y°u  can  go  on  with  your  brotherhood  of  man 
ideas  over  there  at  the  factory.  I  hope  you  love  them 
— those  brothers  who  are  trying  to  ruin  me  and  this 
company!  Try  them  out — associate  with  them — love 
them  all  you  can.  Compare  that  life  with  this,  my  boy ; 
and  when  you've  done  your  work,  for  which  you  are 
paid — when  you  can  charge  one  car  at  one  receiver, 
and  come  from  that  life  to  this,  on  the  strength  of  your 
brains  and  your  own  ability,  as  I  have  come  here  my 
self — why,  I  say  I'll  give  you  a  slice  of  a  million  dol 
lars  !  Then  you  can  compare  that  life  with  this,  and  see 
how  you  like  the  two.  I've  made  up  my  mind  already 
about  that !  So  has  Grace." 

Halsey  turned  once  more  to  his  wife.  She  had 
changed  in  the  last  few  minutes.  Her  eye  was 
brighter,  her  color  higher.  She  was  gazing  not  at  her 
husband  nor  at  her  child,  but  at  these  rich  surround 
ings. 

"I  wonder  if  I  could  play  one  of  my  old  pieces  on 
the  piano  any  more  now?"  she  said  gaily,  rising  and 
walking  to  the  seat  of  the  grand  piano  which  stood 
across  the  room  from  them.  "I've  been  so  busy — " 


CHAPTER  II 

ASPARAGUS,  ALSO  POTATOES 


WHAT  is  written  is  written.  Grace  moved  to 
Graystone  Hall  and  Halsey  remained'  at  the 
factory  cottage ;  nor  did  the  separation,  which  was  re 
garded  by  both  as  merely  temporary  after  all,  afflict 
either  to  the  extent  that  both  had  supposed  it  would. 
Grace  now  became  acting  mistress  of  a  large  and 
elaborate  menage.  As  to  her  husband,  his  domestic 
affairs  fell  into  the  hands  of  Mrs.  Ann  Sullivan,  wife 
of  Jim  Sullivan,  Halsey's  most  trusted  foreman  in  the 
factory. 

Mrs.  Sullivan,  blessed  with  six  children  of  her  own, 
alleged  that  it  would  be  no  trouble  whatever  to  her 
to  take  on  the  sweeping,  mending,  and  all  else  for  an 
additional  household,  and  to  furnish  meals  for  the 
solitary  head  thereof ;  and  such  was  her  ability  to  make 
proof  of  all  these  statements  that  she  in  part  was  to 
blame  for  the  sad  truth  that  Halsey  was  not  as  un 
happy  as  he  ought  to  have  been. 

The  chief  reason  for  Halsey's  easy  readjustment, 
however,  lay  somewhere  in  his  comparison  of  the 
Halsey  blood  with  blood  half  Rawn.  Grace  had  been 
cold,  after  all.  She  had  openly  been  discontented,  and 

225 


226  JOHN   RAWN 

especially  unhappy  since  the  birth  of  the  deformed 
child.  She  had'  left  him  and  gone  to  her  father  with 
no  great  protest ;  nor  did  she,  at  the  occasions  of  their 
rare  and  lessening  visits,  display  more  than  lukewarm 
interest  in  her  husband  and  her  former  home.  Within 
six  months  she  was  beginning;  to  blossom  out  in 
raiment,  in  demeanor.  She  spoke  of  things  not  in  his 
knowledge  though  in  hers.  She  was  changing.  She 
was  going  up  in  the  world.  He,  for  the  time  at  least, 
was  doing  no  better  than  to  stand  still ;  as  the  factory 
now  was  doing,  and  International  Power,  also — mark 
ing  time,  waiting  for  something. 


II 

Ann  Sullivan  was  not  a  bad  philosopher,  besides 
being  a  good  cook,  and  at  times  she  did  not  hesitate 
to  engage  Mr.  Halsey  in  conversation  when  they  met 
at  this  or  that  time  of  the  day ;  as  when  by  chance,  one 
noontide  when  he  came  home  for  lunch,  he  found  her 
sweeping  down  the  front  stair. 

"You're  lookin'  lonesome  to-day,  Mr.  Halsey,"  she 
remarked  without  much  preliminary.  "You're  fair 
grievin'  for  your  wife,  I  suppose?  But  why  should 
you  expict  anny  woman  to  stay  here  whin  she  has  such 
a  Pa,  with  such  a  house  as  her  Pa  has  ?" 

"Would  you  have  gone  over  there,  Mrs.  Sullivan?" 
asked  Halsey,  stopping  and  feeling  in  his  pocket  for  a 
pipe  of  tobacco.  It  was  a  question  they  often  had  dis 
cussed. 

"Would  I?  In  a  minnit!  I'd  lave  Jim  Sullivan 
for  iver  if  I'd  one  chanct  such  as  your  wife  had." 

She  grinned,  but  her  look  belied  her  speech. 


ASPARAGUS,  ALSO  POTATOES   227 

"What  I'm  wantin',  Mr.  Halsey,"  she  went  on,  "is 
what  anny  woman  wants.  I  want  a  di'mond  star  to 
wear  on  me  head  whin  I'm  sweeping  flures.  I  need 
dd'mond  earrings  and  bracelets  to  wear  whin  I'm 
makin'  your  beds,  you  mind;  and  a  silk  dress  that 
hollers  'I'm  a-comin' !'  whin  I  start  out  to  scrub  the 
steps.  Ain't  it  the  truth,  Mr.  Halsey?  Ain't  that 
what  ivery  woman  in  the  wurrld,  at  laste  in  America, 
is  wantin'?" 

"Sure,"  nodded  Halsey.  "Don't  forget  the  auto 
mobile  while  you're  wishing." 

"True  it  is!  Whut  woman  of  anny  social  position 
has  not  got  her  awtomobeel  to-day?  Luk  at  me.  If 
I  had  me  rights,  I'd  have  me  electric  bro'om  brought  to 
the  coorb  ivery  mornin'  for  me  to  go  to  market;  and 
ivery  evenin',  after  I'd  got  me  sweepin'  done,  I'd  have 
me  long  gray  torpedy  come  around  to  take  me  and  Jim 
out  fer  a,  fast  spin  up  the  bulfyvard.  Me  with  di'- 
monds  on  my  hair,  with  rings  on  me  ringers  an*  bells 
on  me  toes,  a-settin'  there  an'  lukkin'  scornful.  Oh, 
I  was  born  in  Ireland,  but  I'm  American  now.  The 
day  Jim  Sullivan  gives  me  what  is  me  due,  and  I  git 
me  first  awtomobeel,  'twill  be  the  proud  day  fer  me — 
the  day  whin  I'm  first  fined  fer  vi'latin'  the  speed  law 
of  the  city.  'Tis  a  great  counthry  this !" 


in 

Mrs.  Sullivan  grinned  happily  at  her  romancing; 
but  presently  set  her  broom  against  the  door-jamb  and 
turned  to  speak  more  in  her  real  mind. 

"Anny  woman  wants  to  blackguard  a  little  once  in 
a  while,  Mr.  Halsey,  sir,  and  all  women  like  to  lie  twice 


228  JOHN   RA.WN 

in  a  while.  I'm  just  lyin'  to  you  now,  because  the 
birds  is  singin'  and  the  weather  is  so  fine. 

"Listen!  Anny  woman  that's  goin'  to  be  happy  is 
goin'  to  be  happy  because  of  the  stomach  she  has  for 
eatin',  and  the  joy  she  has  for  dancin',  and  the  heart 
she  has  for  love  of  her  man  and  her  childern.  And 
anny  woman  that  has  her  heart  in  the  right  place  is 
goin'  to  stand  by  them  and  not  by  herself ;  and  not  by 
anny  one  ilse.  .Try  me  and  see  if  I'm  lyin'  now! 
You're  the  boss.  Fire  Jim  Sullivan  to-day,  and  see  do 
I  stick  with  him,  or  do  I  go  with  some  man  that  gives 
me  di'monds,  and  awtomobeels.  I'd  stick — and  so'd 
anny  other  woman  that  loved  her  man  and  her  chil 
dern." 

"I'm  glad  you  think  so,  Mrs.  Sullivan." 

"You  know  I  think  so!  Oh,  maybe  it's  because  I 
wasn't  born  in  this  country.  Over  there,  'tis  the 
woman  helps  to  make  the  stake.  Here,  she  helps  to 
spend  it.  'Tis  a  fine  counthry  this — fer  policemin.  So 
far  as  bein'  happy  in  it's  concerned,  I  dunno! 
Maybe  it's  the  Irish  in  me  that's  happy,  and  not  the 
American.  I  dunno  again.  'Tis  all  a  question  which 
you  want  to  be,  rich  or  happy !" 

"Or  useful!"  ventured  Halsey. 

"They're  the  same.  Bein'  useful  is  bein'  happy. 
Ain't  it  the  truth  ?" 

Halsey  nodded  again  and  Mrs.  Sullivan  reached 
once  more  for  her  implement  of  industry. 

"Jim  Sullivan  fits  in  his  job,"  said  she.  "He's 
strong  and  can  hold  his  job  all  right.  I'm  strong,  and 
I  can  hold  mine  here,  just  the  same.  We've  only  six 
childern,  and  I  wish  'twas  a  dozen.  No,  it's  no  trouble 
to  take  care  of  this  house,  too.  I'm  only  thinkin'  of 


ASPARAGUS,   ALSO   POTATOES       229 

that  little  lamb  of  yours  she  tuk  away  with  her.  'Tis  a 
mother  she  nades." 

"Please  don't,  Mrs.  Sullivan,"  said  Halsey  quietly. 

"I  mane  no  harm,  and  I'm  feelin'  fer  you,  me  boy, 
you  havin'  a  crippled  child  to  face  the  world  where 
even  the  strong  has  hard  enough  times  ahead.  Still, 
she'll  have  money,  maylike !" 

"Well,  Mrs.  Sullivan,  I'm  not  sure  of  that—" 

"Of  course  it's  none  of  me  business — of  course  not. 
But  only  look  at  the  sky  and  only  hear  the  birds 
this  mornin'!  You're  young,  and  God  may  give  you 
two  yet  the  dozen  that  I  have  longed  for,  denied  as  I 
do  be  with  only  six.  You'll  be  goin'  up  yerself  some 
day,  with  all  thim  rich  folks,  Mr.  Halsey,  boy.  I'm 
stayin'  here  with  Jim  Sullivan.  Whin  we  can't  afford 
sparrowgrass  we  eats  potaties." 


IV 

"But  tell  me,  Mr.  Halsey,"  she  went  on  shrewdly, 
"how  long  will  we  be  havin'  even  potaties  to  eat  ?  Ye 
don't  keep  min  there  in  the  factory  long — there's  not 
many  at  wurrk  now.  Besides,  there's  no  smoke  in 
thim  chimbleys!  And  'tis  time.  What's  the  mystery 
there,  boyf" 

"A  good  deal  of  labor  troubles,"  commented  Hal 
sey  non-committally. 

"More  than  that!"  she  insisted,  drawing  close  to 
him.  "Listen !  I  mean  well  to  you,  boy,  and  so  does 
Jim.  He'll  stick.  But  Jim  told  me  the  night  that 
he  could  walk  out,  and  pick  up  a  clean  tin  thousand 
dollars  fer  the  walkin' !" 

Halsey  controlled  himself.     This  was  news  of  stag- 


23o  JOHN   RAWN 

gering  sort.  "Why  doesn't  he,  then,  Mrs.  Sullivan? 
That's  a  good  deal  of  money,"  he  said  quietly. 

"Yes,  why  doesn't  he  ? — with  me  half  American  and 
gettin'  more  so  aich  year, — me  a-needin'  di'monds  and 
awtomobeels!  The  fool  Irish!  'Tis  maybe  his  ijiotic 
idea  he  ought  to  stick." 

Halsey  made  no  answer  except  to  look  over  at  the 
gaunt  factory  buildings.  A  blue-coated  figure  was 
pacing  back  and  forth  before  the  door. 

"There's  Jim  Sullivan  workin'  inside,  and  there's 
Tim  Carney  walkin'  beat  outside,"  she  resumed ;  "and 
the  pickets  tryin'  to  break  in,  and  some  one  else  tryin' 
to  break  in.  What's  it  about,  Mr.  Halsey?  For  the 
company?  What's  the  company?" 

"It  furnishes  asparagus  for  some,  and  potatoes  for 
others,  Mrs.  Sullivan." 

"Oh,  does  it,  thin  ?  Does  it  mind  that  potaties  costs 
more  than  they  did,  and  so  pay  us  better,  or  worse, 
for  what  we  do?  If  what  we  eat  goes  up,  we  can't 
live;  and  if  we  can't  live,  them  that  can  has  got  to 
support  us  somehow.  Ain't  it  the  truth?  What's  the 
ind  of  it,  me  boy  ? 

"I'm  not  askin'  about  the  justice  of  it,  but  about  the 
business  of  it.  If  our  men  starve,  what'll  we  do  ?  Mr. 
Halsey,  sir,  we'll  raise  hell!  That's  what  we'll  do! 
Too  much  asparagus  in  this  country,  and  too  few 
potaties,  and  thim  of  a  bad  class,  is  goin*  to  raise  hell 
in  this  counthry.  Ain't  it  the  truth? 

"Luk  at  Jim  workin'  there.  And  luk  at  Tim  pro- 
tectin'  of  him.  Tis  fine,  isn't  it?  I'm  thankin'  God, 
meself,  there's  birds  and  sunshine  in  the  world.  If 
it  wasn't  for  thim  and  the  priest,  I'm  wonderin'  some 
times  what  us  poor  folks  would  do." 


ASPARAGUS,   ALSO   POTATOES       231 


"The  theory  is  that  some  men  are  born  stronger  than 
others,  Mrs.  Sullivan,  and  so  entitled  to  the  aspar 
agus,"  smiled  Halsey. 

"Is  it  so?  Jim  Sullivan  yonder  is  strong  in  what 
makes  a  man.  In  what  makes  a  woman  I'm  strong. 
Hasn't  God  got  a  place  f er  us,  as  well  as  Mr.  Rawn  ? 
And  if  God  don't  give  it,  haven't  such  as  us  just  got 
to  take  it? — I  don't  mean  the  asparagus,  but  just 
the  potaties?" 

"But  I've  said  enough/'  she  went  on,  turning  sud 
denly.  "'Tis  only  because  I'm  fond  of  you,  me  boy, 
that  I've  said  so  much.  There's  devilment  and  mys 
tery  goin'  on  here.  I  don't  ask  you  what  your  mystery 
is,  so  don't  ask  me  what  is  mine.  Jim's  likely  to  stick, 
and  so  am  I.  Tis  likely  we  can  be  useful  in  the  world, 
and  as  for  bein'  strong,  we're  strong  enough  to  have 
each  other.  And  as  I  was  sayin',  we've  the  birds  and 
the  sunshine — and  the  priest!  So  take  your  mystery 
you've  got  in  there,  and  match  it  up  with  mine.  L'ave 
Jim  Sullivan  alone,  and  when  these  two  mysteries  git 
together,  yours  and  ours,  why,  maybe  there'll  be  hell!" 

Halsey  did  some  thinking  when  he  was  alone.  He 
knew  now,  and  had  known,  that  something,  somebody 
besides  the  pickets  of  the  labor  unions,  had  an  eye  on 
this  mysterious  factory  of  theirs.  He  had  felt  for  a 
long  time  that  there  was  an  enemy  working  some 
where,  that  a  spy  was  making  definite  attempts  to  get 
secret  information.  Now,  this  unknown  enemy  was 
able  to  offer  ten  thousand  dollars  bribe  money.  The 
case  was  serious  enough. 

It  was  worse  than  serious.  He  had  been  sufficiently 


232  JOHN   RAWN 

warned.  Why,  then,  his  pipe  cold  in  his  teeth,  did  he 
sit  staring  now  and  think  of  things  altogether  apart 
from  the  factory  ?  Why  did  he  dream  of  the  birds  and 
the  sunshine?  Why  did  comparisons  still  force  them 
selves  into  his  mind,  and  why  did  he  long  for  some 
thing  life  had  not  yet  brought  to  him — something  that 
Ann  Sullivan  and  her  man  owned,  though  they  had  so 
little  else? 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  SILENT  PARTNER 


'"THHERE  are  men  who  make  a  living',  sometimes  a 
J.  very  good  one,  through  the  process  of  teaching 
others  to  do  what  they  themselves  can  not  do.  You 
can  purchase  for  a  price  in  any  of  many  quarters 
printed  maxims  embodying  full  formulae  covering  the 
secret  of  success ;  in  each  case  from  one  who  has  not 
succeeded.  Nothing  is  cheaper  than  maxims,  in  type, 
in  worsted,  or  in  transparencies.  To  be  in  the  fashion 
you  should  have  certain  of  these  above  your  desk,  and 
should  incline  your  ear  to  those  who  profess  to  teach 
what  can  not  be  taught  even  by  those  most  nearly 
fitted  to  teach. 

John  Rawn  cared  little  for  maxims,  being  above 
them,  in  his  own  belief,  at  least.  In  all  likelihood  he 
had  never  read  the  advice  of  the  philosopher,  to  wit: 
that  each  man  should  hitch  his  wagon  to  a  star.  No, 
he  knew  something  better.  He  hitched  his  to  a  river. 

Very  naturally,  John  Rawn  selected  the  largest  river 
that  he  could  find.  His  silent  partner  was  none  less 
than  the  Father  of  the  Waters ! 

There  is  this  to  be  said  about  a  river,  that  it  is 
wholly  tireless  and  immeasurably  powerful;  that  it 

233 


234  JOHN   RAWN 

enters  into  no  combinations  against  capital,  and  does 
its  work  without  unseemly  disturbances.  Rawn  was 
wisei  enough  to  know  these  things,  nor  asked  any 
maxims  to  advise  him  therein.  In  his  belief  it  was 
better  to  allow  this  sort  of  silent  partner  to  furnish  the 
industry  and  the  economy. 


II 

Who  shall  measure  the  power  of  a  river,  for  ever 
falling  to  the  sea  ?  How  many  millions  of  horses  and 
men  has  it  equalled  in  its  wasted  power  in  each  genera 
tion,  in  each  decade,  in  each  year  ?  Certainly  sufficient 
to  lift  the  entire  burden  of  labor  from  the  shoulders 
of  the  world. 

What  mind  can  measure  the  extent  of  such  a  force, 
or  dream  the  possibilities  of  its  application,  if  it  could 
be  set  to  work  ?  What  equivalent  of  human  brain  and 
brawn  could  be  valued  against  this  careless,  ceaseless 
power,  derived  endlessly  from  the  air  and  the  earth 
— power  given  to  the  peoples  of  the  earth  before  the 
arrival  of  our  present  political  and  industrial  masters ; 
given  them  in  the  time  when  the  earth  was  the  Lord's 
and  the  fullness  thereof.  The  minerals  under  the  earth, 
the  food  produced  in  the  soil,  the  waters  offering  paths 
'and  power — before  the  earth  and  its  fullness  passed 
from  the  hands  of  the  Lord  into  those  of  our  present 
masters,  these,  it  may  be  conceived,  were  intended  as 
the  Lord's  gift  to  the  peoples  of  the  earth.  That,  how 
ever,  was  quite  before  the  advent  of  John  Rawn. 

Toil  has  always  been  the  human  lot.  We  have  car 
ried  the  mechanical  burdens  as  well  as  the  mental 
burdens  of  life  on  our  own  human  bodies  and  souls; 


THE   SILENT   PARTNER  235, 

altHougK  all  the  time  thousands  of  patient  giants  were 
waiting,  willing  to  serve  us.  John  Rawn  could  see 
them  waiting.  He  knew  to  whom  one  day  would  be 
due  the  power,  and  the  kingdom,  and  the  glory.  He 
could  look  toward  the  white-topped  mountains,  fore 
seeing  the  day  when  they  would  be  put  under  tribute, 
because  they  breed  tumbling  waters  of  immeasurable 
strength  and  utility.  Their  heritage  of  beauty  and 
majesty  is  naught  to  minds  such  as  that  of  John 
Rawn's.  Utility  is  the  one  word  in  the  maxims  of 
such  as  these,  men  beloved  of  the  immortal  gods. 

We  speak;  of  kings,  of  emperors,  but  what  emperor 
in  all  the  history  of  the  world  had  servants  such  as 
these,  submissive  giants  such  as  these,  to  work  for 
him?  We  speak  of  miracles  of  old.  What  miracles 
ever  equaled  the  business  wonders,  the  money-piling 
miracles,  of  the  last  twenty  years  in  America? 


in 

Where  gat  this  silent  partner  of  John,  Rawn's  its 
own  tremendous  power  ?  Out  of  the  sun  and  the  earth, 
the  parents  of  humanity.  The  raindrop  on  the  leaf, 
shot  through  with  the  shaft  of  the  sun,  fell  to  some 
near-by  rill  and,  joined  by  other  rills,  marched  on, 
alive,  tireless,  tremendous,  toward  the  sea.  Even  far  up 
toward  their  source,  had  your  little  boat  lodged, 
counter  to  the  current,  on  some  rock  or  snag,  and  had 
you  attempted  to  push  it  back  against  the  thrust  of  the 
downcoming  waters,  you  might  have  got  some  knowl 
edge  of  the  power  of  even  a  little  stream.  Ten  feet 
below  you,  that  power  again  would  have  been  quite 
as  great ;  and  ten  feet  below  that  again  as  great ;  and  so 


236  JOHN    RAWN 

on,  to  the  sea.  It  required  the  advice  of  no  professional 
maxim  makers  to  teach  a  few  of  our  great  men,  our 
specially  endowed  superiors,  John  Rawn  first  among 
them,  that  this  power  one  day  must  be  used.  In  ac 
cordance  as  it  shall  be  used,  the  burden  of  humanity 
may  be  lifted  from  human  shoulders,  or  thrust  crush- 
ingly  down  upon  them  until  indeed  humanity  shall 
cease  to  hope.  The  earth  and  its  fullness  are  no  more 
the  Lord's  to-day.  They  are  John  Rawn's. 

The  simple  plan  of  the  International  Power  Com 
pany  was  to  make  some  strong  obstruction  inviting 
the  enormous  resistance  of  the  Father  of  the  Waters, 
tantalizing  that  power  into  being.  Thus,  in  a  manner 
perfectly  simply,  this  force,  once  evoked  and  utilized, 
would  turn  numberless  wheels  endlessly,  tirelessly.  So 
much  for  the  material  side  of  manifested  power.  The 
essence,  the  soul,  the  intangible  spirit  of  that  material 
power  was,  in  the  plans  of  International,  to  be 
transmitted  by  wire  at  first,  and  later  through  the  free 
air.  Its  sale  in  definite  and  merchantable  quantities 
would  come  as  near  to  the  solution  of  the  problem  of 
perpetual  motion  and  perpetual  profit  as  may  be  ar 
rived  at  in  this  world  of  limitations. 


IV 

Rawn  asked  nothing  better  than  this  idea.  It  was 
beautiful,  and  he  valued  it  over  all  his  many  and  vari 
ous  other  ventures.  He  could  let  his  silent  partner 
put  other  men  out  of  work ;  and  so  these  could  be  re- 
hired  at  such  price  as  he  himself  cared  to  set.  He  saw 
the  time  approach  when  he  would  be  able  to  retail  at  a 
price,  remote  from  his  silent,  tireless  partner's  labors, 


THE    SILENT    PARTNER  237 

merchantable  packages  of  power,  to  feed  a  cart,  a 
plow,  a  wheel  of  any  sort ;  power  to  lift  and  labor,  to 
toil  ceaselessly  without  remonstrance.  It  was  and  is 
a  splendid  dream.  Its  bearing  is  as  you  be  Rawn  or 
Halsey.  That  power  shall  labor  for  or  against  mankind 
as  ourselves  shall  say. 

Shall  we  blame  ourselves,  or  John  Rawn,  in  this 
republic,  that  he  saw  on  ahead  only  limitless  personal 
power,  limitless  gold,  jewels,  wine,  women,  personal 
indulgence  of  any  sort  that  appealed  to  him?  Shall 
we  blame  Halsey  for  dreading  the  issue  of  these  plans, 
delaying  them  all  he  could ;  clinging  to  the  belief  that 
the  earth  was  the  Lord's  and  the  fullness  thereof ;  and 
that  the  Lord  gave  it  to  all  mankind?  And  shall  we 
blame  the  stock-holders  for  being  impatient  at  renewed 
delays?  The  wire  transmission  was  installed,  making 
every  man  in  the  International  rich.  Yet  every  man  in 
the  secret  of  the  real  ambition  of  this  company  burned 
inwardly  at  this  enforced  secrecy  and  this  unseemly 
delay.  The  mysterious  factory  at  the  edge  of  the  great 
inland  city  still  was  silent.  The  directors  raged.  They 
wanted  to  drain  to  the  last  drop  the  strength  even  of 
this  tireless  giant.  They  wanted  to  begin  to  bottle, 
measure  and  sell,  sell  for  ever,  the  very  force  which 
holds  the  spheres  in  their  places!  In  time  we  shall 
perhaps  see  completed  what  these  men  planned.  There 
is  no  logical  reason  why,  if  one  planet  can  be  owned 
by  a  John  Rawn  or  so,  yet  others  should  not ! 


For  a  long  time  Jim  Sullivan,  foreman  at  the  fac 
tory  of  the  International,  wondered  and  pondered  as 


238  JOHN   RAWN 

to  the  real  intent  of  these  strange  machines  which  he 
saw  little  by  little  growing  up  under  the  uncommuni 
cative  direction  of  the  superintendent,  Halsey.  He 
had  never  seen  anything  like  them,  with  their  vast 
coils  of  insulation,  their  intricate  cogs  and  wheels,  their 
centrally-hidden  huge  glass  jars,  and  the  long,  toothed 
ridge,  like  a  delicate  metal  comb,  which  surmounted 
the  top  of  each.  There  was  something  mysterious 
about  it  all.  He  was  sure  that  Halsey  did  some 
thing  with  these  machines  when  the  men  were  not 
about.  The  very  air  seemed  throbbing  with  some  tense 
quality  of  mystery.  The  men  themselves  were  sus 
picious,  irritable.  Never  was  the  air  in  any  factory 
more  surcharged  alike  with  ignorance  and  with  anxi 
ety.  Man  after  man,  good  mechanic  though  he  was, 
quit  the  place  simply  because  he  did  not  know  what 
he  was  doing.  The  feeling  of  mystery  was  tense,  op 
pressive. 

On  one  certain  Sunday  morning  Jim  Sullivan 
strolled  over  to  the  vacant  factory.  He  knew  that  the 
superintendent  had  spent  almost  the  entire  night  there 
working  alone  on  one  of  these  mysterious  machines. 
It  stood  there  now.  And — yes!  it  was  different  from 
what  it  had  been  when  Sullivan  last  saw  it!  It  was 
now  apparently  complete,  so  far  as  he  could  tell.  There 
•was  no  one  near  it.  Halsey  had  gone  home,  to  bed.  Of 
late  he  had  been  very  tired,  pale,  haggard ;  and  he  al 
ways  was  at  his  work  in  the  factory,  when  good  men 
slept,  and  knew  light-winged  dreams. 

VI 

Jim  Sullivan,  stood  now  looking  at  the  grim,  un 
canny  machine,  hands  in  his  pockets,  wondering.  He 


THE   SILENT    PARTNER  239 

looked  about  him,  superstitiously.  There  seemed  to  be 
something  in  the  air,  he  could  not  explain  what.  He 
turned,  looking  behind  him,  and  tiptoed  to  the  front 
door,  where  Tim  Carney,  the  blue-coated  guardian, 
stood  leaning  against  the  wall. 

"Tim!"  he  whispered,  although  there  was  none  to 
hear.  "Come  on  in  here !" 

"What  is  it,  Jim  ?"  asked  the  watchman. 

"I  dunno;  that's  why  I'm  callin'  you." 

"Has  anny  wan  broke  into  th'  place  ?" 

"Not  as  I  know,  but  somethin's  happened  here.  I'm 
figurin'  'twas  the  boss  done  it.  Come  in  and  have  a 
luk,  now.  He's  gone  home." 

They  stepped  gingerly  on  across  the  floor,  along  the 
row  of  unfinished  machines,  and  paused  at  the  one 
farthest  from  the  door,  which  had  excited  Jim's  curi 
osity. 

"Here's  where  the  boss  worked  all  last  night !"  whis 
pered  the  foreman  hoarsely.  "  'Twas  daybreak  when 
he  come  home,  an'  he  was  all  in.  He's  been  workin'  on 
her  before  now,  I  know  that.  I'm  thinkin'  she's  about 
done,  belike!" 

"Whatever  kind  of  a  spook  joint  is  this,  anyhow, 
Jim?"  demanded  the  watchman.  "What's  she  for,  do 
ye  think  now  ?"  They  two,  bullet-headed,  hairy,  heavy, 
and  powerful,  stood  looking  at  this  contrivance,  whose 
growth  through  many  months  they  had  been  watching. 
The  value  of  it  either  could  measure  in  comprehensible 
terms.  It  was  worth  ten  thousand  dollars  to  either  of 
them  who  would — and  could — tell  a  certain  man  how 
it  was  made. 

"I  dunno  what  she's  for,"  answered  Jim  slowly, 
"but  I'm  thinkin'  it's  no  good  at  all.  It's  the  devil, 


240  JOHN   RAWN 

maylike.  Not  that  she's  so  big  neither.  I  could  almost 
turn  her  over  with  a  pinch  bar."  He  pointed  to  an  arm, 
or  lever,  which  stood  at  the  side  of  the  machine.  "She 
looks  somethin'  like  one  o'  them  drills  I  used  to  run 
in  th'  tunnel,  time  Hogan  was  mayor,  do  ye  mind? 
Whin  we  wanted  to  throw  her  in  we  pushed  down  an 
arm,  somethin'  like  this." 

"Sure,  Jim,  'tis  you  have  the  head  fer  machines.  I 
dunno  about  thim  at  all,"  rejoined  Tim,  scratching  his 
head.  "But  'tis  a  shame  we  can't  throw  her  in,  now. 
Manny  a  time  I've  wondered  what  'twas  all  about  in 
here.  Why  shud  strangers  be  so  anxious  as  to — " 

"She  luks  like  a  patent  gate  in  a  fince,  as  much  as 
annything  else,"  commented  Jim.  "But  as  fer  throwin' 
her  in,  how  cud  we?  She's  attached  to  nothin'  at  all, 
so  there's  nothin'  to  throw  her  into.  She's  got  no  wire 
or  cord  runnin'  to  her,  unless  belike  it  comes  up 
through  the  flure.  She  looks  like  she  was  some  sort 
of  motor,  but  how  she's  to  run  I  dunno.  Now  if  she 
was  geared  to  annything,  you  cud  throw  her  in,  most- 
like,  by  this  thing  here.  It  luks  like  she  was  done,  and 
if  she  is,  I  don't  know  why  the  boss  wud  go  away  and 
leave  the  roof  open  over  her."  He  pointed  to  a  sliding 
window  in  the  roof  directly  above  the  machine.  He 
then  reached  out  and  swung  some  of  his  weight  upon 
the  end  of  the  engaged  arm  or  lever.  Then,  to  the 
joint  surprise  of  the  two  observers,  a  very  singular 
thing  forthwith  occurred. 


VII 

What  happened,  as  nearly  as  either  of  them  later 
could  describe  it,  might  have  been  called  a  duplication 


THE    SILENT    PARTNER  241 

in  large  of  the  phenomena  of  Halsey's  original  motor, 
with  which  he  burst  the  fan  in  the  railway  office  at 
St.  Louis.  There  was  a  low  crackling  in  the  air,  a 
dancing  series  of  blue  flame  points  along  the  toothed 
ridge.  Then  began  a  low  purr,  as  of  a  motor  in  full 
operation.  They  could  see  sparks  emitted,  somewhere 
at  the  interior  of  the  intricate  machinery.  A  living, 
splitting,  crackling  roar  filled  the  air  about  them — the 
roar  of  the  shackled  river,  far  away,  raging  at  the  vio 
lence  done  it!  A  projecting  shaft,  fitted  with  a  pulley 
head,  began  to  revolve,  faster  and  faster,  until  its  speed 
left  it  apparently  motionless. 

Something  had  happened,  they  knew  not  what.  The 
machine  was  alive !  Some  force  seemed  to  come  down 
out  of  the  air,  to  locate  itself  somewhere  within  this 
intricate  mechanism.  They  stood,  two  bullet-headed, 
hairy,  powerful  men,  looking  at  what  they  had  done. 

"Do  ye  mind  that  now?"  gasped  Jim  Sullivan,  and 
wrenched  at  the  lever,  restoring  it  to  its  original  po 
sition.  The  purring  of  the  motor  ceased,  the  blue 
sparks  disappeared,  the  roar  subsided  growlingly. 


VIII 

"What  was  it?"  demanded  Tim  Carney.  "Throw 
her  in  again,  Jim !" 

"Not  on  yer  life!"  gasped  Jim  Sullivan.  "I  dunno 
what  'tis,  but  I'll  take  no  chances  with  the  divil  an' 
his  works,  on  a  Sunday  leastways.  There's  somethin' 
wrong  in  here,  I'm  tellin'  you,  Tim.  What  made  her 
go,  I  dunno.  She's  under  power,  same  like  a  com 
pressed  air  drill — but  where'd  she  git  her  power? — 
the  divil's  in  it,  that's  all,  Tim.  I'm  thinkin'  the  best 


242  JOHN   RAWN 

we  car^  db  is  to  git  away  from  here.  Come,  shut  the 
dure — an'  watch  it.  Me,  I'm  goin'  to  the  praste  ag'in 
this  very  day !  I  see  now  what  that  felly  wanted  1" 

Jim  Sullivan  locked  the  door  and  left  his  friend 
guarding  it ;  then  hurried  across  the  street  to  the  su 
perintendent's  cottage.  Mrs.  Sullivan,  busy  there 
about  her  morning  duties,  would  have  stopped  him, 
but  Jim  would  have  no  denial,  and  hastening  up  the 
stairs  to  Halsey's  bedroom,  impetuously  demanded  en 
trance.  Halsey,  drawn,  haggard,  unshorn,  greeted  him, 
half  sitting  up  in  bed. 

"What's  wrong,  Jim?"  he  demanded.  "Has  anybody 
got  into  the  works?" 

"Hush,  boy !"  said  Jim,  his  finger  on  his  lips.  "You 
need  tell  me  nothin'.  But  I  know  what  it's  all  about." 

Halsey  sat  looking  at  him  dumbly. 

"Fire  me  if  you  like,  my  son,"  went  on  Jim  Sullivan. 
"  Tis  true  I've  done  what  I  had  no  right  to  do.  Mr. 
Halsey,  sir,  /  throwed  Her  in!" 

"You  did  what?" 

"I  throwed  her  in.  An'  she  worked — she  worked 
like  a  bird!  Then  I  throwed  her  out  ag'in  an'  come 
away  an'  locked  the  door.  Tim  was  there,  too.  'Tis 
none  of  my  business.  But  I've  come  to  tell  you  the 
truth,  an'  you  can  fire  me  if  you  like !  But  it's  hell,  it's 
harnessed  hell  ye've  got  in  there.  An'  others  want  to 
stale  it." 

By  this  time  Halsey  was  getting  into  his  clothing 
and  only  half  listening  to  what  his  foreman  said. 

"What  kills  me  is,  I  can't  see  how  she  works!  She 
runs  by  herself  all  the  time,  chuggin'  like  a  fire  ingin. 
But  where  does  she  git  it?" 


THE    SILENT    PARTNER  243 

Halsey  made  no  answer.  He  was  pale  as  a  dead 
man.  A  few  moments  later  they  were  hurrying  down 
the  stair,  across  the  street,  and  through  the  long,  de 
serted  room  with  its  rows  of  gaunt  enginery.  They 
stood  before  the  completed  receiver,  whose  motor  so 
perfectly  had  caught  the  power  of  the  free  second  cur 
rent  from  the  air — John  Rawn's  costless,  stolen  Power. 

"What  makes  her  go?"  demanded  Jim  Sullivan. 
f'Fer  what  is  the  hole  in  the  roof  yon  ?" 

Halsey  turned  to  him.  "It's  the  Mississippi  River 
makes  it  go,  Jim.  If  we  didn't  leave  a  hole  in  the  roof 
how  could  the  river  get  through?  Now  do  you  un 
derstand?" 

"My  boy,"  said  Jim  kindly,  laying  a  large  hand  on 
his  shoulder,  "you're  off  your  nut,  of  course.  I  don't 
blame  ye,  workin'  so  long  as  ye  have,  an'  worryin'. 
'Tis  a  rest  ye  must  be  takin'  now,  or  they'll  be  puttin' 
ye  in  the  bughouse  fer  fair !" 

"You're  right!"  said  Halsey.  "I  think  I'll  just  take 
a  little  ride  this  afternoon.  Jim,  come  here  and  help 
me.  I  want  to  see  if  we  can  charge  up  this  electric 
car.  If  I  can  do  that,  Jim,  my  boy,  I'll  be  richer  by 
six  o'clock  than  either  of  us  ever  dreamed  of  being!" 

Shaking  his  head  dubiously,  the  big  foreman  lent  a 
hand,  and  between  them  they  managed  to  roll  the  car 
into  place. 

"Want  to  throw  her  down  again,  Jim?"  demanded 
Halsey,  motioning  to  the  lever  and  grinning.  That 
worthy  shook  his  head. 

"I'm  scared  of  her,  Mr.  Halsey,  that  I  am !" 

"And  well  you  may  be !"  was  Halsey's  comment.  He 
himself  threw  down  an  arm  on  the  opposite  side  of 


244  JOHN   RAWN 

the  receiver.  This  time  the  motor  did  not  resume  its 
purring,  the  shaft  did  not  revolve. 

''She's  bruk !"  said  Jim.  Halsey  only  pointed  to  the 
blue  tips  of  toothed  ridge.  "No,"  said  he,  "she's  only 
doing  another  part  of  her  work.  The  power  is  going 
into  the  auto's  motor  instead  of  this.  Two  forms,  you 
see,  Jim." 

A  faint  spark  showed  at  the  transmitter  connection. 
"Come !"  said  Halsey.  "Let  her  work !  We  don't  need 
to  now." 

IX 

That  afternoon,  Charles  Halsey  took  his  seat  at  the 
steering  wheel  of  an  electric  car  which  had  been 
charged  with  power  taken  from  the  air  without  wire 
transmission.  His  task  was  done.  He  had  accom 
plished  what  he  had  started  out  to  do.  Throbbing  be 
neath  him  was  Power,  the  power  of  yonder  distant  si 
lent  partner,  power  taken  from  the  earth,  and  the  air, 
and  the  water ;  power  of  the  elements ;  and  power  now 
definite,  segregant,  merchantable! 

Halsey  kicked  in  the  gear  and  rolled  out  into  the 
street.  Pale,  preoccupied,  he  hardly  noted  where  he 
was  going;  but  found  himself  half  automatically  di 
recting  the  car  through  a  maze  of  ill-paved,  crowded 
thoroughfares;  until  at  length  he  reached  the  West- 
Side  boulevard  system.  Thence  he  crossed  the  river 
to  the  East,  and  headed  north.  Strong  and  true,  under 
a  limit  charge,  the  motor  purred  beneath  him.  The 
mechanism  of  the  car  operated  without  defect.  Noth 
ing  in  the  least  seemed  wrong  at  any  particular,  nor 
did  the  car  in  any  particular  differ  in  appearance  from 
others  of  its  humble  and  inconspicuous  class. 


THE    SILENT    PARTNER  245 


None  the  less,  midway  of  one  of  the  large  parks 
along  the  lake  shore,  young  Halsey  suddenly  disen 
gaged  the  gear,  cut  off  his  power,  and  applied  the 
brakes.  He  was  perhaps  half  way  from  his  home  on 
the  journey  to  Graystone  Hall.  .  .  .  For  a  little 
time  he  sat  in  the  car,  pale,  almost  motionless,  deep  in 
thought;  careless  of  the  passing  throng  of  other  ve 
hicles,  the  occupants  of  which  regarded  him  curiously. 
Then,  suddenly,  he  threw  in  the  gear  again,  turned 
on  the  current;  and,  quickly  turning  about,  retraced 
his  course.  He  had  been  gone  less  than  an  hour  when 
he  stood  once  more  at  the  curb  of  his  cottage  near  the 
factory  in  the  western  suburb  of  the  city. 

"So  you're  back  again,  sir!"  commented  Jim  Sul 
livan.  "An*  did  ye  get  all  that  sudden  wealth  ye  was 
tellin'  me  about,  at  all  ?" 

Halsey  sat  staring  at  him  for  a  time.  "No,"  said  he, 
"I've  changed  my  mind.  I'm  going  to  wait  a  while." 

The  foreman  turned  and  tiptoed  off  to  find  his  wife. 
"Annie,"  said  he,  his  voice  low  and  anxious,  "try  if 
ye  can  get  the  boss  to  bed,  an'  make  him  sleep  as  long 
as  ever  he  can.  He's  goin'  off  his  head,  an'  talkin'  like 
a  fool.  Somethin's  wrong  here,  that's  sure!  Hell's 
goin'  to  break  loose,  in  yon  facth'ry  some  day.  But 
whativer  comes,  the  boss  is  crazy !" 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  BAKER'S  DAUGHTER 


A  LARGE  part  of  our  ambitious  American  popula 
tion  is  prone  boastfully  to  ascribe  its  origin  to  one 
or  other  of  those  highly  respectable,  if  really  little 
known  monarchs  to  whom  is  commonly  accorded  the 
foundation  of  Old  World  nobilities.  We  have  built  up 
a  pretty  fiction  regarding  so-called  blue  blood,  on  the 
flattering,  but  wholly  unsupported  supposition  that 
royal  qualities  are  transmissible  to  the  thirtieth  and 
fortieth  generation ;  so  that  'tis  a  poor  American  family 
indeed  can  not  boast  its  coat  of  arms,  harking  back  to 
royal  days  of  Charlemagne  or  William  the  Conqueror. 
It  may  be.  Their  Majesties  were  active,  morganatically 
at  least  no  doubt,  much-married  men ! 

But  continually  there  arise  disturbing  instances  to 
upset  us  in  our  beliefs  regarding  aristocracy.  There 
are  so  very  many  worthless  aristocrats,  in  whom  the 
theory  of  descent  did  not  work  out  according  to  ac 
cepted  schedule;  and  there  are  so  very  many  worthy 
but  wholly  disconcerting  men  who  are  not  aristocrats — 
so  continually  do  Lincolns  arise  who,  claiming  nothing 

246 


THE   BAKER'S   DAUGHTER  247 

of  birth  or  breeding,  show  themselves  to  be  possessed 
of  manhood,  show  themselves,  moreover,  masters  of 
those  instincts  and  practices  which  go  with  the  much- 
abused  title  of  gentleman ;  a  matter  in  which  not  all 
descendants-  of  Charles  or  William  join  them. 


II 

It  is  well  known  among  theatrical  managers  that  no 
real  lady  can  imitate  a  real  lady.  The  highest  salaries 
in  ladies'  theatrical  roles  are  paid  to  ladies  who  are 
not  ladies,  but  who  play  the  parts  of  ladies  as  they 
think  ladies  really  would  act  in  actual  life.  If  you  seek 
a  woman  to  carry  off  a  gown,  one  to  assume  such 
really  regal  air  as  shall  bring  the  name  of  William  or 
Charlemagne  impulsive  to  your  lips,  find  one  still 
owning  not  more  than  one  of  the  requisite  three  gen 
erations  which  are  set  as  the  lowest  limit  for  the  pro 
duction  of  a  gentleman  or  a  lady. 

Continually  in  our  American  aristocracy — and  in 
that,  par  consequence,  of  Europe — we  find  ladies  whose 
fathers  were  laborers,  shop-keepers,  soap-makers, 
butchers,  this  or  that,  anything  you  like.  So  only  they 
had  money,  they  did  as  well  as  any  to  wear  European 
coronets,  to  assist  at  royal  coronations.  And,  having 
proved  their  powers  in  swift  forgetfulness,  they  offer 
as  good  proof  as  any,  of  the  scientific  fact  that  gentle 
ness  of  heart  and  soul  and  conduct  are  not  things  trans 
missible  even  to  the  third  or  fourth  generation,  either 
in  America  or  Europe.  Your  real  aristocrat  perhaps 
after  all,  is  made,  not  born. 

As  to  Virginia  Delaware,  daughter  of  the  baker, 
John  Dahlen,  in  St.  Louis,  she  started  out  in  life  with 


248  JOHN   RAWN 

the  deliberate  intent  of  being  a  lady,  knowing  very 
well  that  this  is  America,  where  all  things  come  to  him 
or  her  who  does  not  wait.  In  some  way,  as  has  been 
said,  she  had  achieved  graduation  at  a  famous  school 
where  the  art  of  being  a  lady  is  dispensed.  She  had, 
indeed,  even  now  and  then  seen  a  lady  in  real  life ;  not 
to  mention  many  supposed  ladies  in  theatrical  life,  play 
ing  the  part  as  to  them  seemed  fit,  and  far  better  than 
any  lady  could. 

in 

The  soul  finds  its  outward  expression  in  the  body. 
The  ambition  shapes  the  soul.  It  was  wholly  logical 
and  natural  that,  having  her  particular  ambition — that 
of  many  American  girls — Virginia  Delaware  should 
grow  up  tall,  dignified,  beautiful,  composed,  self-re 
straining,  kindly,  gracious ;  these  being  qualities  which 
in  her  training  were  accepted  as  properly  pertaining 
and  belonging  to  all  aristocrats.  We  have  already  seen 
that,  put  to  the  test,  in  the  midst  of  our  best  aristocrats 
— those  who  frequent  the  most  highly  gilded  and 
glazed  hotels  in  New  York — she  was  accepted  unhesi 
tatingly  as  of  the  charmed  circle,  even  by  the  head 
waiters.  Had  you  yourself  seen  her  upon  the  Chicago 
streets,  passing  to  her  daily  occupation,  you  also  in  all 
likelihood  would  have  commented  upon  her  as  a  rich 
young  woman,  and  one  of  birth,  breeding  and  beauty. 
We  have  spoken  somewhat  regarding  the  futility  of 
mottoes  and  maxims  in  the  case  of  an  ambitious  man. 
As  much  might  be  said  regarding  their  lack  of  applica 
bility  to  the  needs  of  an  ambitious  woman.  Virginia 
Delaware  would  have  made  her  own  maxims,  had  she 
needed  any ;  and  had  she  been  obliged  to  choose  a  coat 


THE   BAKER'S    DAUGHTER  249 

of  arms,  she  surely  would  have  selected  the  Christian 
motto  of  "Onward  and  Upward." 


IV 

The  best  aid  in  any  ambition  lies  in  the  intensity  of 
that  ambition.  We  all  are  what  we  really  desire  to  be, 
each  can  have  what  he  really  covets,  if  he  will  pay  the 
price  for  it.  In  her  gentleness  with  her  associates,  in 
her  dignity  and  composure  with  her  employer,  in  her 
conduct  upon  the  street  and  in  the  crowded  car,  in  all 
situations  and  conditions  arising  in  her  life,  Virginia 
Delaware  diligently  played  the  part  of  lady  as  best  she 
comprehended  that ;  because  she  had  the  intense  ambi 
tion  to  be  a  lady.  She  continually  was  in  training. 
Moreover,  she  had  that  self-restraint  which  has  been 
owned  by  every  woman  who  ever  reached  any  high 
place  in  history.  She  kept  herself  in  hand,  and  she 
held  herself  not  cheap.  Likewise,  after  the  fashion  of 
all  successful  politicians,  she  cast  aside  acquaintances 
who  might  be  pleasant  but  who  probably  would  be  of 
little  use,  and  pinned  her  faith  to  those  who  promised 
to  be  of  future  value.  Such  a  woman  as  that  can  not 
be  stopped — unless  she  shall,  unfortunately,  fall  in 
love. 

If  there  was  calumny,  Virginia  Delaware  heeded  it 
not.  She  accosted  all  graciously  and  with  dignity,  as 
a  lady  should.  And  all  this  time  her  great  personal 
beauty  increased  to  such  point  as  to  drive  most  of  her 
fair  associates  about  the  headquarters'  offices  to  the 
verge  of  rage.  To  be  beautiful  and  aristocratic  both 
assuredly  is  to  invite  hatred !  It  is  almost  as  bad  as  to 
be  rich.  Miss  Delaware  allowed  hatred  to  run  its 


250  JOHN   RAWN 

course  unnoted.  She  needed  no  maxims  over  her 
desk,  required  no  ancestral  coat  of  arms.  She  was  an 
aristocrat,  and  meant  to  be  accepted  as  such.  In  all 
likelihood — though  simple  folk  may  not  read  a  wom 
an's  mind — she  saw  further  into  the  future  than  did 
John  Rawn  himself. 

There  remained,  then,  as  against  the  ambition  of 
Virginia  Delaware,  the  one  pitfall  of  love,  and  even 
this  she  easily  avoided.  Beautiful  as  she  unquestion 
ably  was,  admired  as  she  certainly  was,  if  there  had 
been  fire  in  this  girl's  heart  for  any  man,  she  kept  it 
either  extinguished  or  well  banked  for  a  later  time. 
She  had  gently  declined  the  heart  and  hand  of  every 
male  clerk  in  the  office.  She  had  chosen  her  own  ways, 
and  was  not  to  be  diverted.  Cool,  ambitious,  perfectly 
in  hand,  she  went  her  way,  and  bided  her  time. 

Cool,  ambitious,  perfectly  in  hand,  John  Rawn  also 
went  his  way  in  life.  Two  more  ambitious  souls  than 
these,  or  two  more  alike,  you  scarcely  could  have  found 
in  all  the  descendants  of  the  two  bucaneer-monarchs 
we  have  named. 


And  Rawn  continually  found  something  responsive 
in  the  soul  of  this  young  woman,  something  that 
never  found  its  way  into  speech  on  either  side.  She 
was  the  type  of  devotion  and  of  efficiency.  Gently, 
without  any  ostentation,  she  took  upon  herself  a  vast 
burden  of  detail ;  and  she  added  thereto  an  unobtrusive 
personal  service  upon  which  Rawn  unconsciously  came 
more  and  more  to  depend.  Did  he  lack  any  little  accus 
tomed  implement  or  appliance,  she  found  it  for  him 
forthwith.  Did  he  forget  a  name,  a  date,  a  filing  record, 


THE   BAKER'S   DAUGHTER  251 

it  was  she  who  supplied  it  out  of  a  memory  infallible  as 
a  fine  machine.  From  this,  it  was  but  an  easy  step  to  the 
point  where  the  young  woman's  unobtrusive  aid  be 
came  useful  even  beyond  business  hours.  John  Rawn 
had  never  studied  to  play  in  any  social  role.  Did  he 
need  counsel  in  any  social  situation,  she,  tactfully  hesi 
tant  and  modest,  always  was  ready  to  tell  him  what  he 
should  do,  what  others  should  do.  Had  he  an  appoint 
ment,  it  was  she  who  reminded  him  of  it,  and  it  was 
she  who  had  made  it.  Were  there  personal  bills  to  pay, 
it  was  she  who  paid  them.  She  presided  over  his  per 
sonal  bank  account,  and  there  was  no  hour  when  she 
could  not  have  named  the  dollars  and  cents  in  his  bal 
ance.  Did  he  wish  to  avoid  an  unwelcome  visitor,  it 
was  arranged  for  him  delicately  and  without  offense. 
Little  by  little,  she  had  become  indispensable,  both  in 
a  business  and  a  social  way — a  fact  which  John  Rawn 
did  not  fully  realize,  but  which  she  knew  perfectly  well. 
It  had  never  been  within  her  plan  to  be  anything  less 
than  that.  She  knew,  although  he  did  not,  that  John 
Rawn  also  was  indispensable  to  her. 

Rawn  came  from  no  social  station  himself,  and  as 
we  have  seen,  had  grown  up  ignorant  of  conventional 
life,  so  that  now  he  remained  careless  of  it,  as  had  he 
originally.  He  made  it  matter  of  routine  now  that  this 
young  woman  should  attend  in  all  his  visits  to  the  East 
in  business  matters — where,  in  short,  he  could  not  have 
got  along  without  her.  There  was  talk  over  this 
— unjust  talk — and  much  amused  comment  on  the  fact 
that  the  two  seemed  so  inseparable.  Rawn  did  not 
know  or  note  it.  They  literally  were  running  together, 
hunting  in  couple  in  the  great  chase  of  ambition.  Few 
knew  now  what  the  salary  of  the  president's  private 


252  JOHN   RAWN 

secretary  represented  in  round  figures.  Certainly  she 
dressed  as  a  lady.  Certainly  also  she  comported  her 
self  as  one.  It  was,  in  the  opinion  of  John  Rawn,  no 
one's  business  that  he  registered  himself  at  the  New 
York  hotels,  and  either  did  not  register  his  companion 
at  all,  or  else  contented  himself  with  the  wholly  de 
scriptive  word  "Lady"  opposite  the  number  of  the 
room  whose  bills  he  told  the  clerk  to  charge  to  his 
account. 

VI 

Never  was  there  the  slightest  ground  for  suspicion 
of  actual  impropriety  between  John  Rawn  and  Miss 
Delaware.  Abundance  of  bad  taste  there  certainly  was, 
for  Rawn,  without  explanation  or  apology  to  any,  al 
ways  ate  in  company  of  his  assistant,  was  constantly 
seen  with  her  on  the  streets,  at  the  opera,  the  play. 
He  showed,  in  short,  that  he  found  her  society  wholly 
agreeable  upon  every  possible  occasion.  If  this  was  in 
bad  taste,  if  many  or  most,  in  the  usual  guess,  put  it  at 
the  point  of  impropriety,  John  Rawn  gave  himself  no 
concern.  The  Rawn  aristocracy  began  in  him.  He 
founded  it,  was  its  Charlemagne,  its  William  the  Con 
queror,  as  ruthless,  as  regardless  of  others,  as  selfish, 
as  megalomaniac  as  the  best  of  kings.  Here,  therefore, 
were  two  aristocrats !  They  ran  well  in  couple. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  a  girl  so  shrewd  as  Vir 
ginia  Delaware  could  fail  to  realize  the  full  import  of 
all  this.  She  let  the  slings  and  arrows  fall  upon  the 
buckler  of  her  perfect  dignity  and  her  perfect  beauty, 
but  she  felt  their  impact.  She  was  perfectly  in  hand, 
knew  perfectly  well  her  mind,  knew  perfectly  well  the 
price  she  must  pay.  She  let  matters  take  their  course, 


THE   BAKER'S    DAUGHTER  253 

knowing  that  they  were  advancing  safely  and  surely  in 
one  direction,  that  which  she  desired.  She  was  more 
skilled  in  human  nature  than  her  employer,  saw  deeper 
into  a  man's  heart  than  he  had  ever  looked  into  a 
woman's ! 

And  then,  at  last,  the  life  schedule  of  Virginia  Dela 
ware  was  verified.    At  last,  the  inevitable  happened. 


VII 

On  one  of  these  many  trips  to  New  York,  Miss  Dela 
ware  had  been  alone  in  her  apartments  at  the  hotel 
for  most  of  the  afternoon.  In  the  evening,  before  the 
dinner  hour,  she  was  summoned  to  meet  Mr.  Rawn  in 
one  of  the  hotel  parlors.  At  once  she  noted  his  sup 
pressed  excitement.  He  scarce  could  wait  until  they 
were  alone,  in  a  far  corner  of  the  room,  before  ex 
plaining  to  her  the  cause. 

"I  don't  like  to  say  this,  Miss  Delaware,"  he  began, 
"but  I've  got  to  do  it !" 

"What  do  you  mean,  Mr.  Rawn  ?"  she  replied  in  her 
usual  low  and  clear  tones. 

"There's  been  talk!" 

"Talk?    About  what?" 

"Us !" 

"About  us?  What  can  you  mean,  Mr.  Rawn?"  she 
asked. 

"The  world  is  so  confoundedly  small,  my  dear  girl, 
that  it  seems  everything  you  do  is  known  by  every 
body  else.  Of  course,  a  man  like  myself  is  in  the 
public  eye ;  but  we've  always  minded  our  business,  and 
it  ought  not  to  have  been  anybody  else's  business  be 
yond  that." 


254  JOHN   RAWN 

"You  disturb  me,  Mr.  Rawn !  What  has  hap 
pened?" 

" — But  now,  to-night,  now — just  a  little  while  ago — 
I  met  this  fellow  Ackerman — you  know  him — big  man 
in  the  company — used  to  be-  general  traffic  manager 
down  in  St.  Louis,  on  the  old  railroad  where  I  began 
— well,  he  was  drunk,  and  he  talked." 

"What  could  he  say?" 

"He  got  me  by  the  coat  collar  and  proceeded  to  tell 
me  how  much — how  much — well,  to  tell  the  truth,  he 
connected  your  name  and  mine.  If  he  wasn't  drunk 
— and  a  director — I'd  go  down  there  yet  and  smash  his 
face  for  him!  What  business  was  it  of  his?  Of 
course,  men  don't  mind  such  things  so  much.  But 
when  it  comes  to  you — why,  my  dear  girl !" 


VIII 

The  truth  has  already  been  stated  regarding  John 
Rawn ;  that,  batrachian,  half-dormant  for  almost  half 
a  century,  and  then  putting  into  business  what  energy 
most  men  put  into  love  and  sex,  he  had  passed  a  life 
of  singular  innocence,  or  ignorance,  as  to  womankind. 
He  had  never  countenanced  much  gossip  about  women, 
because  he  had  little  interest  in  the  topic.  The  grande 
passion  marks  most  of  us  for  its  own  now  and  again, 
or  is  to  be  feared  now  and  again ;  but  the  grande  pas 
sion  had  passed  by  John  Rawn.  He  was  now  ap 
proaching  fifty  years  of  age.  Married  he  had  been, 
and  divorced ;  but  he  had  not  yet  been  in  love. 

He  now  spoke  to  his  like,  his  mate  in  the  hunt,  of 
the  opposite  sex,  a  young  woman  who  at  that  very 
moment  was  as  beautiful  a  creature  as  might  have  been 


THE   BAKER'S    DAUGHTER  255 

found  on  all  Manhattan,  a  woman  known  in  all  Man 
hattan  now  as  the  mysterious  "Lady  of  the  Light 
nings/'  the  goddess  of  the  stock  certificates  of  one  of 
the  most  mammoth  American  corporations,  a  creature 
over  whom  Manhattan's  most  critical  libertines  were 
crazed — and  helpless ;  moreover,  a  woman  who,  out  of 
all  those  in  the  great  caravanserai  at  that  moment, 
might  as  well  as  any  have  been  chosen  as  the  very  type 
of  gentle  breeding  and  of  gentle  womanhood  alike. 
But  she  had  not  yet  been  in  love. 


IX 

"I  'don't  understand,  Mr.  Rawn,"  repeated  she 
slowly.  "What  possible  ground  could  Mr.  Ackerman 
have  had?  You  surely  don't  think  he  could  have 
spoken  to  any  one  else  ?" 

"I  wouldn't  put  that  past  Ackerman  when  he's 
drunk.  If  he'd  talk  to  me,  he  would  to  others.  And 
you  know  perfectly  well  that  when  talk  begins  about 
a  woman,  it  never  stops !" 

"No,  that  is  the  cruel  part  of  it." 

Her  voice  trembled  just  enough,  her  eyes  became 
just  sufficiently  and  discreetly  moist;  she  choked  a 
little,  just  sufficiently. 

"It  is  cruel,"  she  said,  with  a  pathetic  little  sigh,  "but 
the  hand  of  every  man  seems  to  be  against  a  woman. 
Did  you  ever  stop  to  think,  Mr.  Rawn,  how  helpless, 
how  hopeless,  we  really  are,  we  women?" 

He  flung  himself  closer  upon  the  couch  beside  her, 
his  face  troubled,  as  she  went  on  with  her  gentle  pro 
test. 

"All  my  life  I've  done  right  as  nearly  as  I  knew, 


256  JOHN   RAWN 

Mr.  Rawn.  Perhaps  I  was  wrong  in  coming  to  trust 
so  much  to  you — to  depend  on  you  so  much.  It  all 
seemed  so  natural,  that  I've  just  let  matters  go  on, 
almost  without  any  thought.  I've  only  been  anxious 
to  do  my  work — that  was  all.  But  this  cruel  talk  about 
us — well — it  can  have  but  one  end.  I  must  go." 

"Go?  Leave  me?  You'll  do  nothing  of  the  sort! 
I'll  take  care  of  this  thing  myself,  I  say — I'll  stand 
between  you  and  all  that  sort  of  talk." 

"Mr.  Rawn,  I  don't  understand  you." 


They  sat  close  together  on  this  brocaded  couch 
among  many  other  brocaded  couches.  Crystal  and 
color  and  gilt  and  ivory  were  all  about  them ;  pictures, 
works  of  art  in  bronze  and  marble  and  costly  porce 
lains.  The  air  was  heavy  with  fragrance,  dripping 
with  soft  melody  of  distant  music.  She  was  beauti 
ful,  a  beautiful  young  woman.  He  caught  one  glance 
into  her  wide,  pathetic  eyes  ere  she  turned  and  bent 
her  head.  He  caught  the  fragrance  of  her  hair — that 
strange  fragrance  of  a  woman's  hair.  Dejected,  droop 
ing  as  she  sat,  her  hands  clasped  loosely  in  her  lap, 
he  could  see  the  bent  column  of  her  beautiful  white 
neck,  the  curve  of  her  beautiful  shoulders,  white,  flaw 
less. 

The  flower  on  her  bosom  rose  and  fell  in  her  emo 
tion.  She  was  a  woman.  She  was  beautiful.  She  was 
young.  Something  subtle,  powerful,  mysterious,  stole 
into  the  air. 

She  was  a  woman! 

Suddenly  this  thought  came  to  John  Rawn  like  a 


THE   BAKER'S   DAUGHTER  257 

sudden  blow  in  the  face.  It  came  in  a  sense  hitherto 
unknown  to  him  in  all  his  life.  Now  he  understood 
what  life  might  be,  saw  what  delight  might  be !  He 
saw  now  that  all  along  he  had  admired  this  girl  and 
only  been  unconscious  of  his  admiration.  God !  what 
had  he  lost,  all  these  years!  He,  John  Rawn,  had 
lived  all  these  years,  and  had  not  loved! 

He  reached  out  timidly  and  touched  her  round 
white  arm,  to  attract  her  attention.  She  flinched  from 
him  a  trifle,  and  he  also  from  her.  Fire  ran  through 
his  veins  as  from  a  cup  of  wine,  heady  and  strong. 
He  was  a  boy,  a  young  man  discovering  life.  The 
glory  of  life,  the  reason,  had  been  here  all  this  time, 
and  he  had  not  suspected  it.  What  deed  for  pity  had 
been  wrought!  He,  John  Rawn,  never  before  had 
known  what  love  might  be !  He  was  the  last  man  on 
Manhattan  to  go  mad  over  Virginia  Delaware. 

She  drew  back  from  him,  seeing  the  flush  upon  his 
face,  color  rising  to  her  own.  Indeed,  the  power  of 
the  man,  his  sudden  vast  passion,  were  not  lost  upon 
her,  different  as  he  was  from  the  idol  of  a  young  girl's 
dreams.  But  Virginia  Delaware  saw  more  than  the 
physical  image  of  this  man  beside  her.  She  knew  what 
he  had  to  share,  what  power,  what  wealth,  what  sta 
tion.  She  knew  well  enough  what  John  Rawn  could 
do ;  and  she  gaged  her  own  value  to  him  by  the  flush 
on  his  face,  the  glitter  in  his  eye. 

For  one  moment  she  paused.  For  one  moment  heu 
redity,  the  way  of  her  own  people,  had  its  way.  For 
one  moment  she  saw  another  face,  different  from  this 
flushed  and  corded  one  bent  near.  It  was  for  but  a 
moment ;  then  ambition  once  more  took  charge  of  her 
soul  and  her  body  alike. 


258  JOHN   RAWN 

XI 

The  net  was  thrown.  Silently,  gently,  she  tightened 
its  edges  with  the  silken  cords.  He  loved  her.  The 
rest  was  simple.  She  saw  the  world  unrolling  before 
her  like  a  scroll.  All  else  was  but  matter  of  detail. 
Above  all,  she  exulted  in  her  strength  at  this  crucial 
moment.  She  knew  that  love  is  dangerous  for  a 
woman,  always  had  feared,  as  any  woman  may,  that 
love  might  sweep  her  away  from  her  own  safe  moor 
ings.  She  rejoiced  now  to  see  this  danger  past,  re 
joiced  to  find  her  pulses  cool  and  even,  her  voice  under 
control,  herself  mistress  of  herself.  She  did  not  love 
him. 

But  she  drew'  back  now  apparently  startled,  appre 
hensive.  "We  must  go,  Mr.  Rawn,"  she  said;  and 
would  have  risen. 

He  put  out  a  hand,  almost  rude  in  its  vehemence. 
"You  shall  not  go!  I've  got  to  tell  you.  Sit  down! 
Listen !  We'll  separate  in  one  way,  yes.  You're  done 
now  with  your  clerking  days  for  ever.  But  you're 
going  to  be  my  wife.  I  want  you;  and,  by  God,  I 
love  you !" 

His  voice  rose  until  she  was  almost  alarmed.  She 
looked  about  in  real  apprehension.  She  turned,  to  see 
John  Rawn's  face  convulsed,  suffused,  his  protruding 
lower  lip  trembling,  his  eyes  almost  ready  to  burst  into 
tears.  She  might  almost  have  smiled,  so  easily  was  it 
all  done  for  her.  Yet  this  baker's  daughter  dared  to 
make  no  mistake  in  a  situation  such  as  this ! 

"Mr.  Rawn,"  she  began,  casting  down  her  eyes,  al 
though  she  allowed  him  to  retain  her  hand,  "what  can 
you  mean?  Surely  you  must  be  in  jest.  Have  you  no 


THE   BAKER'S   DAUGHTER  259 

regard  for  a  poor  girl  who  is  trying  to  make  her  way 
in  the  world?    I've  done  my  best — and  now — " 

"Make  your  way  in  the  world !  What  do  you  mean  ? 
It's  made  now!  Look  down  the  list  as  far  as  you  like. 
Is  there  anywhere  you  want  to  go  ?  Is  there  anything 
you  want  to  do?  Can  you  think  of  anything  I'll  not 
get  for  you?  Look  at  your  neck,  your  hands — you've 
worn  those  jewels  almost  ever  since  you  selected  them, 
and  no  one  else  has,  though  I  told  you  once  there  was 
a  string  to  them.  There's  no  string  to  them  now. 
The  first  time  you  wore  them,  down  there  in  the 
dining-room,  below,  I  told  you  they  were  not  yours, 
that  they  were  only  loaned  to  you  for  one  night,  that 
we  were  only  both  of  us  masquerading,  trying  our 
selves  out!  I  told  you  then  you'd  do;  but  I  didn't 
know  what  I  meant.  I  don't  believe  I  loved  you  then, 
although  now  it  seems  I  always  have.  I  know  I 
always  will.  Those  things  are  nothing — you  shall  have 
everything  you  want — handfuls  of  jewels.  There's 
nothing  you  want  to  do  that  you  shall  not  do.  You 
can't  dream  of  anything  that  I'll  not  get  for  you !  You 
were  made  for  me  in  every  way  in  the  world — every 
little  way,  as  I've  come  to  know,  little  by  little,  all  this 
time.  But  now,  to-night,  it's  all  come  over  me  at  once. 
I  don't  know  that  I  planned,  when  I  came  here,  to  do 
more  than  to  stand  between  you  and  talk !  But — this — • 
caught  me  all  at  once,  I  don't  know  how.  It's  the 
truth  before  God!  I  never  loved  a  woman  before 
now — I  didn't  know  what  it  was.  Virginia — Jennie 
— girl — I  love  you!  We're  going  to  be  married  to 
morrow  !" 

^     "Mr.  Rawn,"  she  said,  her  voice  trembling,  "I  must 
ask  you  to  consider  well  before  you  make  any  mistake 


2<5o  JOHN   RAWN 

— a  mistake  which  would  mean  everything  for — for 
me.  You  have  no  right  to  jest." 

"I'll  show  you  who's  in  earnest!"  he  retorted,  his 
hand  cruelly  hard  on  her  wrist  as  he  forced  her  back 
into  the  seat.  "We'll  go  home  from  here  as  man  and 
wife,  that's  what  we'll  do.  We'll  go  from  the  train, 
not  to  the  office,  but  to  Graystone  Hall.  I'll  find  a 
preacher  in  the  morning  here.  It's  wonderful !  I  love 
you !  If  they  want  to  talk,  we'll  give  them  something 
to  talk  about!  Let  them  come  to  the  Little  Church 
Around  the  Corner — to-morrow — and  see  us,  you  and 
me!" 

He  had  both  her  hands  in  his  large  ones  now,  and 
was  looking  into  her  eyes,  intoxicated,  mad.  She 
leaned  just  gently  toward  him.  Forgetful  of  their 
situation,  he  caught  her  in  his  arms,  and  kissed  her 
full. 

XII 

"Mr.  Rawn,  how  could  you !"  she  said  at  last,  softly, 
seeking  to  disengage  her  hand.  "It's  like  a  dream !  I 
have  worked  so  hard,  so  long.  Life  has  had  so  little 
forme!" 

"But  you  love  me — you  can  ?"  he  demanded. 

"Oh,  Mr.  Rawn!"  she  said,  lifting  her  eyes  to  his 
face,  then  gently  turning  them  aside. 

"You  do — you  have — tell  me !    Confess  it !" 

She  laughed  now,  ripplingly,  her  color  rising,  and 
at  least  was  spared  that  instance  of  her  perjury.  John 
Rawn  accepted  it  as  her  oath. 

They  parted  after  a  time,  she  scarce  remembered 
how,  he  to  a  couch  which  knew  no  sleep,  she  to  one 
that  long  remained  untouched. 


THE    BAKER'S    DAUGHTER  261 

In  her  own  room  Virginia  Delaware  stood  for  a  long 
time  before  her  mirror,  in  silent  questioning  of  herself, 
her  brows  just  drawn  into  a  faint  vertical  frown.  At 
last  she  nodded  approvingly,  satisfied  that  she  would 
do.  A  wave  of  sensuousness,  of  delight  in  her  own 
triumph,  swept  across  her.  She  stood  straight,  swung 
back  her  shoulders,  gazed  at  the  superb  image  in  the 
glass  through  half-shut  eyes.  There  was  no  question 
of  it!  She  was  a  very  beautiful  woman,  stately,  gra 
cious — and  aristocratic.  So.  It  was  done.  She  had 
won.  She  caught  glimpses  of  the  jewels  blazing  at  her 
throat.  She  removed  them  and  tossed  them  lightly  on 
the  dresser  top  as  she  turned  to  call  for  her  maid. 

"Madam  is  very  beautiful  to-night,"  ventured  that 
tactful  creature  when  at  last  she  had  performed  her 
closing  duties  for  the  day. 

Virginia  Delaware  looked  down  upon  her  with  the 
amused  tolerance  of  the  superior  classes. 

"You  may  perhaps  find  a  little  silver  on  the  dresser, 
maid,"  said  she  graciously. 


END  OF   BOOK   THREE 


BOOK   FOUR 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  ROYAL  PROGRESS  OF  MR.  AND  MRS.  RAWN 

SO  they  were  married.  Graystone  Hall  at  last  had  a 
mistress  worthy  of  its  architect  and  decorator  when 
— love  and  affection  and  other  good  considerations 
moving  thereto,  as  the  law  hath  it — the  new  Mrs.  Rawn 
moved  into  the  place  of  the  old  Mrs.  Rawn.  There 
after  matters  went  at  least  as  merry  as  most  marriage 
bells  celebrating  the  nuptials  of  middle  age  and  youth, 
of  wealth  and  beauty. 

As  Mr.  Rawn  had  spent  a  million  dollars  to  free 
himself  from  one  wife,  he  seemed  willing  to  spend 
much  more  in  the  process  of  taking  on  another.  It 
became  current  rumor  that  the  one  great  diamond  show 
of  the  western  city  was  Virginia  Rawn.  The  sobri 
quet,  "The  Lady  of  the  Lightnings,"  passed  from  New 
York  to  Chicago  and  became  permanent  there.  Not 
that  that  lady  delighted  in  display ;  but  there  were  oc 
casional  operatic  or  theatrical  events  which  demanded 
compliance  with  her  husband's  wishes,  in  which  event 
she  blazed  almost  better  than  the  best. 

But,  gradually,  she  showed  the  tastes  of  the  aristo 
crat,  as  alien  to  vulgar  display  as  to  crude  manners. 

262 


PROGRESS   OF   MR.   AND   MRS.   RAWN    263 

Gradually  the  tone,  color,  atmosphere,  of  Graystone 
Hall  began  to  change.  The  porcelains  which  Vir 
ginia  Rawn  purchased  were  not  large  and  gorgeous, 
but  a  connoisseur  would  have  called  them  worthy. 
The  vast  and  brilliantly  framed  paintings  came  down 
one  by  one,  and  one  by  one  masterpieces  went  up,  se 
lected  by  one  who  knew.  The  walks,  the  grounds, 
took  on  simpler  and  cleaner  lines.  Rawn  of  the  Inter 
national  got  a  new  credit  as  a  person  of  taste.  He 
was  accepted  as  a  collector,  a  patron  of  the  arts,  a  con 
noisseur,  in  fact,  yet  more  a  worthy  and  a  rising 
citizen. 

The  hospitality  of  Mr.  Rawn's  mansion  house  also 
now  increased  perceptibly,  and,  delighted  that  at  last 
numbers  came  to  see  him,  Mr.  Rawn  at  first  did  not 
analyze  those  numbers  very  closely.  Even  the  fastidious, 
many  of  whom  came  to  be  amused,  were  unanimous 
in  the  feeling  that  Mr.  Rawn's  house,  its  furnish 
ings,  its  decorations,  its  pictures,  its  works  of  art,  its 
hospitality  also,  were  beyond  reproach.  The  trace  of 
gaucherie  was  gone.  The  spirit  of  the  place  was  deli 
cately  reserved,  dignified,  yet  well  assured.  The  seal 
of  approval  was  placed  upon  Graystone  Hall.  Who, 
indeed,  should  smile  at  the  man  who  had  made  so  me 
teoric  a  rise,  who  had  by  a  few  years  of  labor  become 
master  of  this  mansion,  its  furnishings  and  its  mis 
tress  ?  Who,  upon  the  other  hand,  might  smile  at  that 
mistress,  whose  appearance  upon  the  front  page  of  the 
leading  journals  of  the  city  became  now  a  matter  of 
course — a  lady  of  such  reserved  tastes  as  led  her  to 
forsake  the  larger  marts,  and  to  set  the  seal  of  fashion 
able  approval  upon  a  little  florist,  a  little  modiste,  a 
little  milliner  all  her  own — even  a  little  surgeon  hither- 


264  JOHN    RAWN 

to  unknown,  who  honored  a  little  hospital  and  made  it 
fashionable,  by  taking  there  this  distinguished  patient 
for  a  little  operation  ? 

ii 

Rawn  himself  expanded  in  all  this  social  success. 
He  saw  doors  hitherto  closed,  opening  before  him,  saw 
his  future  unrolling  before  him  also  like  a  scroll.  A 
hundred  times  a  week  he  walked  to  his  young  wife, 
caught  her  in  his  arms,  uxoriously  infatuated  with  her 
youth,  her  beauty,  her  aplomb,  her  fitness  for  this  life 
which  he  had  chosen.  For  once  he  almost  forgot  to  re 
gard  himself  as  a  collector  of  beautiful  objects,  although 
the  truth  was  that  his  wife,  Virginia,  became  more 
beautiful  each  day,  more  superb  of  line,  more  calmly 
easy  in  air,  more  nearly  faultless  of  garb  and  demea 
nor.  She  took  her  place  easily  and  surely  among  the 
young  matrons  of  the  wealthier  circles  of  the  western 
city.  Whereas  thousands  of  auto-cars  had  passed  by 
Graystone  Hall  and  only  a  dozen  stopped,  scores  now, 
of  the  largest,  drove  up  its  winding  walks,  and  halted 
at  its  doors.  The  dearest  dream  of  both  seemed  real 
ized.  The  hunt  in  couple  had  won !  They  had  gained 
what  they  desired ;  that  is  to  say,  self-indulgence,  ease, 
idleness,  adulation,  freedom  from  care.  What  more 
is  there  to  seek  ?  And  is  not  this  America  ? 

Gradually  John  Rawn  had  been  losing  the  rusticity 
which  had  accompanied  him  well  up  to  middle  age. 
The  city  now  began  to  leave  its  imprint.  The  waist 
coat  of  Mr.  Rawn  gradually  attained  a  curve  unknown 
to  it  in  earlier  years,  so  that  his  watch  fob  now  hung  in 
free  air  when  he  stood  erect.  His  face  was  perhaps 
more  florid,  his  hair  certainly  more  gray.  His  skin 


PROGRESS   OF   MR.   AND   MRS.   RAWN    265 

remained  fresh  and  clean,  and  always  he  was  well- 
groomed,  having  the  able  assistance  of  his  wife  now 
in  the  selection  of  his  tailoring,  as  well  as  her  coaching 
in  social  usage.  They  always  looked  their  part.  At 
morning,  at  noon,  or  at  dewy  eve,  in  any  assemblage 
or  any  chance  situation,  they  both  played  in  the  role 
assigned  to  them  in  their  own  ambitions.  Born  of 
environment  wholly  unconventional,  they  now  took  on 
that  of  conventionality  as  though  born  to  that  instead. 
You  could  not  have  found  a  more  perfect  type  of  re 
spectability  than  John  Rawn,  a  more  absolutely  valid 
exemplar  of  good  social  form  than  his  wife,  Virginia. 
All  things  prospered  under  their  magic  touch,  the  genii 
of  the  lamp  seemed  theirs.  No  problems  remained  for 
them  to  solve.  They  had  in  their  own  belief  attained 
what  may  be  attained  in  American  life,  and  vhey 
were  happy.  Or,  that  is  to  say,  they  should  at  least 
have  been  happy,  if  their  theory  of  life  and  success, 
and  of  those  like  to  theirs,  be  correct.  At  least  they 
were  what  they  were — products  of  a  wonderful 
country  which  makes  millionaires  overnight  and  pro 
duces  out  of  bakeries  women  of  one  generation  fit  to 
be  the  wives  of  princes  born  of  forty  kings. 


in 

We  are,  some  of  us  at  least,  accustomed  to  worship 
such  as  these  as  they  ride  by  upon  the  high  car  of  suc 
cess,  accustomed  to  envy  and  to  emulate  them.  If  that 
vehicle  be  the  car  of  Juggernaut,  crushing  under  its 
wheels  multitudes  of  those  who  worship,  it  is  no  con 
cern  of  those  who  sit  aloft.  For  a  long  time  Mr.  Rawn 
and  his  wife  remained  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  one 


266  JOHN   RAWN 

victim  under  the  wheels  of  their  success  was  none  other 
than  Mr.  Rawn's  daughter,  Grace. 

Alas!  for  that  young  lady.  She  unfortunately  had 
been  now  for  almost  a  year  an  aspirant  in  her  own 
right  to  a  seat  upon  the  car  of  ease  and  luxury;  yet 
here  she  saw  herself  swiftly  supplanted,  and  worse 
than  that,  swiftly  forgotten !  Her  year  of  quasi-place 
and  power  had  left  her  unwilling  to  return  to  her  own 
humble  home.  She  remained  on  at  Graystone  Hall, 
now  rarely  visited  by  her  husband.  She  found  herself 
calmly  accepted,  yet  calmly  neglected  as  well.  Very 
naturally  she  hated  the  new  Mrs.  Rawn  with  all  her 
soul;  a  hatred  which  that  lady  repaid  with  nothing 
better  than  a  straight  look  into  Grace's  dark  eyes,  a 
look  innocent,  calm,  and  wholly  fearless.  Grace  must 
now  see  the  very  jewels  her  own  mother  should  have 
worn,  blazing  at  the  neck  and  hands  of  her  stepmother ; 
must  see  that  lady  taking  assuredly  and  as  of  right, 
what  Grace  could  now  never  ask  or  expect  for  herself. 
With  an  unapproachable  and  wholly  hateful  air  of  dis 
tinction  and  good  breeding  which  rankled  most  of  all 
in  crude  Mrs.  Halsey's  heart,  Virginia  Rawn  sat  high 
on  the  car  of  Juggernaut ;  and  the  car  of  Juggernaut 
passed  on.  In  pride  and  delight  over  his  young  wife, 
John  Rawn  really  forgot  his  daughter.  The  young 
new  wife  did  the  same,  or  appeared  to  do  so. 


IV 

John  Rawn  had  told  the  truth  to  his  wife  when  first 
he  had  declared  his  sentiments  toward  her — he  never 
before  that  time  really  had  known  love,  or  at  least  had 
not  known  infatuated  love  such  as  that  he  felt  for  her. 


PROGRESS    OF    MR.   AND    MRS.    RAWN    267 

He  exulted  in  the  vistas  of  delight  which  he  saw  before 
them,  fancying  them  endless.  The  very  sight  of  his 
wife,  cool,  faultless,  self-possessed,  haughty,  filled  him 
with  a  sense  of  his  own  importance,  making  him  feel 
that  he  was  one  of  God's  chosen.  She  was  his,  he  had 
found  her,  discovered  her,  collected  her.  She  was  his 
to  put  upon  a  pedestal,  to  admire,  to  display,  to  wor 
ship,  to  load  down  with  jewels.  He  had  something 
now  which  other  men  coveted  and  envied.  He  flaunted 
his  ownership  of  such  a  woman  in  their  faces.  What 
more  can  a  rich  man  do  than  that  same  ?  Is  that  not 
the  dream.1  and  test  of  power — to  secure  what  others 
may  not  have,  to  secure  special  privileges  in  this  life? 
And  is  not  the  quest  of  beauty  the  first  business  of  him 
who  has  attained  power?  Of  all  these  special  privi 
leges  which  had  come  to  John  Rawn  so  swiftly  in 
these  late  rapid  years,  none  so  delicately  and  warmly 
filled  his  heart  as  that  of  being  able  to  call  Virginia 
Rawn  his  own.  Why  blame  him  ?  The  sultans  of  thirty 
or  forty  generations  have  devised  nothing*  better  than 
this  test  of  power. 

John  Rawn,  with  all  properly  aristocratic  leanings 
toward  sultanry,  lacked  certain  elements  of  sultanhood 
in  strength,  but  had  others  in  weakness.  He  did  not 
know  that  in  reality  he  was  in  the  hands  of  a  stronger 
nature  than  his  own.  "She's  got  him  jumping  through 
hoops,"  was  the  comment  of  one  young  man.  "He'll 
sit  up  and  bark  whenever  she  gives  the  word!"  But 
Rawn  did  not  know  that  he  was  barking  and  jumping, 
his  tongue  hanging  out  excitedly.  In  all  his  mental 
pictures  of  himself  he  fancied  himself  to  be  a  figure  of 
dignity,  of  strength,  indeed  of  majesty. 


CHAPTER  II 

FOUR  BEING  NO  COMPANY 


HAPPY  in  his  newly-found  domestic  delights,  Mr. 
Rawn  was  perhaps  more  careless  than  otherwise 
he  would  have  been  regarding  business  affairs,  and  that 
at  a  time  when  they  needed  care.  The  truth  was  that 
matters  still  lagged  at  the  factory,  as  Rawn  ought  to 
have  known.  Indeed,  he  did  know ;  but  always  his 
curious  helplessness  in  regard  to  Halsey — who  alone 
knew  the  last  secrets  of  the  most  intricate  devices  of 
the  company's  property — continued  to  oppress  him. 
And  always  here  was  his  wife  to  console  him  and  to 
interest  him. 

The  distance  between  Graystone  Hall  and  the  fac 
tory  apparently  was  becoming  greater  from  month  to 
month.  Sometimes  Halsey  came  to  visit  his  wife,  but 
these  visits  of  late  became  fewer  and  fewer,  as  that  lady 
became  more  and  more  discontented,  less  and  less 
eager  to  receive  the  attentions  of  him  who  had  so  sig 
nally  failed  to  place  her  where  Virginia  sat  in  power. 
This  alone  left  Halsey  none  too  happy  himself  at  the 
prospect  of  any  of  his  perfunctory  calls ;  and  moreover, 
he  found  himself  expected  now  to  be  more  careful  in 

268 


FOUR   BEING   NO   COMPANY         269 

his  attire,  in  his  conduct  about  Graystone  Hall,  where 
full  evening  dress  tacitly  was  desired  at  dinner,  and 
where  an  aristocratic  chill  was  habitual  at  any  hour; 
things  not  customary  in  Ann  Sullivan's  household  on 
the  factory  side  of  the  city.  Not  that  Halsey  needed  to 
excite  social  misgivings.  He  was  a  clean-faced,  manly 
chap,  lean,  sinewy  and  strong,  and  might,  save  for  his 
rather  toil-marked  hands,  have  passed  for  any  of  the 
throng  of  young  men  who  at  times  came  under  one 
pretense  or  other  to  visit  Mr. — and  Mrs. — Rawn. 


ii 

These,  in  company  with  Grace,  he  one  evening  found 
alone,  seated  on  the  wide  gallery  that  overlooked  the 
lake  front.  He  did  notice  then,  as  he  never  before  at 
any  time  had  noticed,  a  singular  truth — Virginia 
Rawn's  eyes  seemed  almost  reluctant  to  leave  him.  He 
was  half  her  husband's  age.  Moreover,  there  was  some 
thing  in  the  somber  glow  of  his  eye,  in  the  occasional 
look  of  his  face — rapt,  absorbed,  remote,  pondering  on 
things  not  made  patent  to  all  about  him — which  held 
for  her  ever  a  stronger  fascination.  She  wondered  if 
things  were  known  in  his  philosophy  no  longer  reck 
oned  in  her  own ;  but  which  once  might  have  been  ger 
mane  to  her  as  well.  She  often  looked  at  him. 

The  evening  was  clear  and  cool,  the  lake  stirred  with 
no  more  than  a  gentle  breeze.  The  silver  ladder  of 
the  moon's  light  was  flung  down  across  the  gently 
moving  waters.  The  breath  of  flowers  was  all  about. 
Calm,  ease,  assuredness  were  here.  The  voice  of  the 
hostess  was  delightfully  low  and  sweet.  All  things 
seemed  in  keeping. 


270  JOHN   RAWN 

Rawn  welcomed  his  son-in-law  with  his  customary 
largeness  of  air.  "Come  on  out,  Charles,"  said  he, 
"join  us;  the  evening  is  pleasant.  Won't  you  have  a 
cigar?"  He  fetched  with  his  own  hands  the  box  of 
weeds — "Take  several,  my  boy,  take  as  many  as  you 
like.  I  give  two  dollars  apiece  for  these  by  the  box  at 
my  club,  and  you  can't  beat  them  in  the  city  or  any 
where  else." 

Halsey  listened  almost  absent-mindedly,  and  Rawn 
returned  to  his  seat  near  his  wife,  a  little  apart  on  the 
gallery.  The  master  of  Graystone  Hall  was  intoxi 
cated  more  than  usually  this  evening  with  her.  She 
sat  now  in  the  dim  light,  a  cool,  dainty  and  beautiful 
picture,  in  blue  and  ivory  Duchesse  satin  and  filmy 
laces,  gowned  fit  for  a  wedding  or  a  ball,  as  she  always 
was  of  an  evening  at  home,  with  just  a  gem  gleaming 
here  and  there  in  the  occasional  glimpse  of  light  which 
broke  through  the  windows  at  the  back  of  the  gallery 
as  their  curtains  shifted  in  the  breeze.  At  that  moment 
John  Rawn  would  have  been  glad  to  have  the  entire 
world  share  boxes  of  cigars  with  him.  John  Rawn, 
collector — what  man  on  all  the  North  Shore  Drive  at 
that  moment  could  claim  such  surroundings  as  these? 

"I  thank  you,  Mr.  Rawn,"  said  Halsey,  taking  a 
single  cigar  from  the  box  which  his  host  had  placed 
.upon  the  near-by  tabouret.  "I  think  I'll  be  content  with 
one.  I  mustn't  get  into  bad  habits;  I'm  afraid  Jim 
Sullivan  and  I  can't  afford  them  at  two  dollars  apiece 
just  yet!" 

in 

He  moved  now  quietly  and  dutifully  apart  toward 
the  end  of  the  gallery  where  sat  a  less  resplendent 


FOUR   BEING   NO   COMPANY         271 

figure,  that  of  his  wife,  Grace.  She  had  not  risen  to 
meet  him. 

"Well,"  said  he,  as  he  sank  into  a  seat  beside  her. 

"Well,  then  ?"  she  answered,  and  turned  upon  him  a 
face  dour,  inexpressive,  pasty,  almost  frowning. 

"Is  that  all  you  have  to  say  to  me  ?"  she  began  later, 
as  he  sat  smoking, 

"I  haven't  had  much  chance  yet,"  he  commented. 

"No,  I  should  say  not !  This  is  the  first  time  youVe 
been  here  for  four  weeks !  Have  you  stopped  to  think 
of  that?  You  seem  to  care  little  enough  how  I  get 
on!" 

Halsey  paused  for  a  moment  before  replying.  "That 
hardly  seems  fair  to  me." 

"Why  isn't  it  fair?    It's  the  truth." 

"Well,  I've  been  busy  all  the  time,  as  you  know.  Be 
sides  again,  when  it  comes  to  that,  it  doesn't  seem  to 
me  that  you've  been  altogether  anxious  to  have  me 
come." 

"You  talk  as  though  you  worked  day  and  night 
and  had  nothing  else  to  do." 

"Well,  I  suppose  I  could  come  over — every  night 
after  dinner — wash  the  soot  and  the  cinders  from  me, 
get  out  my  four-hundred-dollar  go-cart,  and  come  over 
here  to  call  on  my  wife  in  my  thirty-dollar  evening 
togs,  couldn't  I  ?  She  lives  in  Graystone  Hall.  Where 
do  I  live  ?  What  do  I  get  out  of  life,  when  it  comes  to 
that,  Grace?  When  I  do  come  here,  you  begin  to 
nag  me  before  I  get  settled  down.  I  always  used  to 
say  when  I  was  a  young  man,  that  if  I  ever  found  my 
self  married  to  a  nagging  woman,  I'd  just  quit  her!" 

"What  do  you  mean  by  that  ?"  she  demanded  imper 
iously. 


272  JOHN    RAWN 


IV 

Again  Halsey  was  deliberate,  although  he  half 
sighed  as  he  replied :  "Pretty  much  what  I  say,  Mrs. 
Halsey,  since  you  ask  me.  The  truth  is,  you  quit  me 
when  I  needed  you.  I  have  had  worry  enough  from 
this  business  at  the  factory.  I  don't  particularly  care 
to  have  all  other  kinds  of  worry  on  top  of  that.  You 
had  all  this  place  to  fall  back  on.  Your  father's  taken 
care  of  you.  But  he  hasn't  taken  care  of  me  very  well. 
The  fact  is,  I've  been  scapegoat  about  long  enough !" 

"You  seem  to  have  learned  the  factory  ways  of  talk 
ing!" 

"Yes,  I  don't  know  but  I  am  getting  rather  plain, 
and  common,  and  vulgar.  It's  a  little  different  here — 
even  from  Kelly  Row,  let  alone  our  place  on  the  West 
Side.  I  fancy  you're  getting  the  North  Shore  accent, 
along  with  other  things. — It  all  only  means  that  we're 
that  much  further  apart,  Grace.  Did  you  ever  stop  to 
think  of  that  ?" 

"I've  had  time  to  think  of  plenty  of  things,"  she  an 
swered  bitterly. 

"You  had  plenty  of  time  to  think  of  some  of  them 
before  you  came  over  here,"  he  rejoined.  "You  didn't 
like  what  your  husband  could  offer  you,  and  you  chose 
something  better  which  your  father  did  offer  you. 
You've  quit  me,  practically.  You've  not  been  in  our 
home  twice  since  you  came  to  live  here.  I've  seen  that 
poor  baby  of  ours  only  once  in  a  while  since  you  left 
our  home  for  this.  You've  not  been  a  wife  to  me. 
That's  the  truth  about  it — I  might  as  well  not  be  mar 
ried!  That  comes  mighty  near  being  the  situation, 
since  you  put  it  up  to  me  to  answer." 


FOUR   BEING   NO   COMPANY         273 

"Then  what  do  you  mean?" 

'The  courts  would  make  it  a  case  of  desertion,  if 
you  force  me  to  say  that,"  answered  Halsey.  "Now, 
I  don't  want  to  live  on  this  way  for  ever !  I'm  a  young 
man,  and  my  career's  ahead  of  me !  I've  got  to  choose 
regarding  my  life  before  long!  And  I'm  going  to 
choose.  I'm  not  going  to  let  things  run  on  in  this  way 
any  further." 

"That's  what  my  father  always  said !  Your  career ; 
your  life !  Where  does  your  wife  come  in  ?" 

"You  come  in  precisely  where  you  say  you  want  to 
come  in,  Grace.  We  get  what  we  earn  in  this  world. 
If  you  leave  me  and  take  up  a  life  which  I  can't  share, 
if  you  leave  my  house  and  don't  care  for  what  I  can 
give  yon — why  there's  not  much  left  to  talk  about  as  to 
where  you  come  in.  You  come  in  here.  I  belong  over 
there." 

"You're  selfish !    All  men  are,  I  think." 

"I'm  not  going  to  argue  about  that  in  the  least, 
Grace,  except  to  say  that  it's  the  Rawn  half  of  you  that 
said  that.  The  Rawn  half  of  you  can't  see  anything 
but  its  own  part  of  the  world.  It  wasn't  the  Rawn 
half  of  you  that  I  married.  You  were  different,  then. 
You're  not  much  like  your  mother,  Grace !  And  I  mar 
ried  the  part  of  you  that  was  like  your  mother.  She 
was  a  good  woman,  and  a  good  wife."  ' 

"You  must  not  speak  of  her !" 

"Oh,  yes,  I  must,  and  I  shall  when  I  like.  It's  all 
in  evidence.  There's  the  record."  He  nodded  toward 
the  two  dim  figures  at  the  other  end  of  the  gallery. 
"She's  very  beautiful,  yes,  very  beautiful !"  His  eyes 
lingered  on  the  figure  of  Virginia  Rawn,  faintly  out 
lined,  cool  in  satin  and  laces. 


274  JOHN   RAWN 

"She'd  like  to  hear  you  say  that !"  sneered  his  wife. 

"I  perceive,  my  dear,  that  you  two  love  each  other 
very  much.  But  as  I  was  saying,  you  don't  seem  to 
me,  Grace,  to  be  much  like  your  own  mother — you're 
more  like  your  stepmother,  over  there,  in  some  ways. 
Your  mother  didn't  change.  She  made  good — if  y  ou'll 
let  me  use  some  more  factory  slang — on  the  old  ways, 
on  her  own  old  lines.  That's  what  I  call  class,  breed 
ing,  blood,  if  you  like — just  plain  North  American  sin 
cerity  and  simplicity.  She  didn't  pretend,  she  didn't 
try  to  climb  where  she  knew  she  couldn't  go.  That's 
what  I  call  blood !" 

"Thank  you !    You're  sincere  also,  at  least." 


He  seemed  not  to  hear  her.  He  went  on.  "But 
you've  changed.  You  dropped  me.  Your  head  was 
turned  with  all  this  sort  of  thing.  .  .  .  Since  these 
things  are  true,  are  you  coming  back  to  me  ?"  He  found 
himself  wrenching  his  eyes  away  from  the  cool  dim 
figure  far  down  the  long  gallery. 

She  straightened  up  suddenly,  pale.  "Back! — to 
that?  To  live  in  that  hole—?" 

"Yes,  just  back  to  that,  Grace.  It's  all  I  have  to 
offer  you.  Just  that  hole." 

"I'm  not  happy  here." 

"Then  why  do  you  stay  here  ?  Why  don't  you  come 
back  to  me?" 

"Because  I  couldn't  be  happy  over  there  any  more, 
either !  I  know  it.  I  admit  it.  It's  got  me — I  couldn't 
go  back  to  the  old  ways,  the  ways  we'd  have  to  live. 


FOUR   BEING   NO   COMPANY         275 

Why  can't  you  come  here — why  doesn't  Pa  give  us 
money  enough — " 

He  turned  to  her  now  gravely.  "I  suppose  it's  the 
pace — yes,  it's  got  you,  and  a  lot  of  others.  But  I'm 
not  taking  that  sort  of  money  just  yet.  And  that 
doesn't  answer  my  question.  I've  come  over  to-night 
to  arrive  at  some  understanding  about  us  two.  I 
want  to  know  where  I  am.  There  are  going  to  be 
changes,  one  way  or  another." 

She  turned  to  him  suddenly  again.  "What's  wrong 
over  at  that  factory,  Charley?"  she  asked.  "Why 
[haven't  you  made  good  before  this?  My  father  has 
been  on  the  point  of  tearing  up  things  a  dozen  times ! 
He's  sore  at  you — awfully  sore." 

"Yes?     How  do  you  know  I  haven't  made  good?" 

"Then  why  has  Pa  talked  so?" 

"For  the  very  good  reason  that  he  doesn't  know  any 
better  than  to  talk  that  way.  He  hasn't  got  any  more 
sense.  He  didn't  talk  that  way  to  me" 

"Then  you  have  got  it — you've  made  the  discovery — 
it'll  work?" 

"Our  machines  not  only  will  work,  but  have  been 
working,"  said  he  calmly.  "I  haven't  seen  fit  to  tell 
your  father.  I'm  going  to  tell  you,  however,  that  all 
this  was  my  idea  from  the  first.  If  I  haven't  been  a 
competent  manager,  let  him  get  some  one  more  compe 
tent.  I'll  take  what  I  know  with  me  in  my  own  head. 
I'm  saying  to  you,  his  daughter,  that  I  worked  out 
this  idea,  myself,  and  all  he  did  was  to  get  the  money 
in  the  first  place  for  it.  For  that  reason  I  call  this 
discovery  mine,  to  do  with  as  I  like.  I  haven't  been 
bought  and  paid  for,  myself.  I  don't  want  money 


276  JOHN  RAWN 

when  it  costs  too  much.  I've  just  begun  to  understand 
things  lately." 

"Yes,  I've  worked  it  out  into  practical  form,"  he 
concluded,  as  she  sat  silent.  "Your  father  never  did 
and  never  can.  He's  got  to  come  to  me,  to  me,  right 
here.  Since  you  drive  me  to  it,  I'll  just  tell  you  one 
thing.  I've  had  this  whole  thing  in  my  own  hands 
for  more  than  eight  months!  The  company  doesn't 
know  it,  he  doesn't  know  it,  no  one  knows  it.  I've 
been  just  waiting — to  see  whether  I  had  a  wife  or 
not." 

"You  never  told  ?  Then  you've  been  disloyal,  you've 
been  a  coward !  You  took  his  money — " 

"All  right,"  said  Halsey  suddenly,  grimly,  "that's 
all  I  need.  I  see,  now.  I  know  what  to  do  now." 

"But  you  didn't  tell  father!"  she  went  on  fiercely. 
"And  we  all  knew  how  much  has  been  depending  on 
that  factory.  Weren't  we  all  in'  that — didn't  we  all 
help,  from  the  very  first  ?  Didn't  I  ?" 

"Yes,  you  did,  you  and  your  mother,"  said  Halsey. 
"You've  had  or  will  have  all  you  earned.  She  got 
divorced  from  her  husband,  you  may  get  divorced 
from  me !  It's  a  fine  world,  isn't  it  ?  We've  all  been 
chasing  for  more  money.  Well,  here  we  are !  There's 
a  couple  over  there,  here's  another  one  here.  Fine, 
isn't  it?" 

VI 

"But,  Charles!"  She  moved  toward  him  and  laid 
a  hand  on  his  arm.  "You  don't  stop  to  reflect  on 
what  you  are  saying !  If  you  have  that  secret  in  your 
hands,  why,  don't  you  see — don't  you  see — " 

"What  do  you  mean  ?" 


FOUR   BEING   NO    COMPANY          277 

"Why,  even  Pa  will  have  to  come  to  you!  You 
won't  be  poor  then." 

"I  should  say  he  would  have  to  come  to  me !"  said 
Charles  Halsey  slowly.  "Yes,  I  dare  say.  I  dare  say, 
also,  I  could  make  a  lot  of  money  whether  he  did  or 
didn't.'5 

"Listen,  Charley.  He's  got  everything,  and  he 
wants  everything.  He's  my  father,  but  he  doesn't  care. 
He — he  sold  me  out.  What  do  we  owe  to  him  and 
her?  What  did  he  do  to  my  mother?  I  tell  you,  he 
thinks  of  no  one  but  himself.  Yet  you  and  I — we 
who  found  that  idea  and  worked  it  out,  who  have  it  in 
our  own  hands  now,  as  you  say — you  and  I  have  got 
the  whip  in  our  own  hands  now,  it  seems  to  me." 

"You  talk  excellent  business  sense,  Mrs.  Halsey.  I 
compliment  you.  It  seems  that  you  begin  to  discover 
something  in  your  husband  and  his  possibilities.  It's 
a  trifle  late,  but  you  delight  me !" 

"Well,  I  didn't  know,  you  see,"  she  murmured,  paw 
ing  at  him  vaguely,  in  a  fitful  and  inefficient  essay  at 
some  coquettish  art,  grotesque  in  these  conditions. 

She  was  a  woman  of  small  feminine  charm  at  best. 
She  sat  there  now,  angular,  stiff,  unbeautiful,  the  sort 
of  woman  no  clothes  can  make  well-dressed.  Already 
she  had  disclosed  somewhat  of  her  soul.  What  appeal, 
then,  physical,  emotional,  moral,  could  she  make  to 
him — a  student,  a  visionary,  an  idealist — at  such  a  mo 
ment  ?  And  did  there  not  remain  that  same  cool  distant 
figure  from  whom  he  had  so  constantly  to  wrench  his 
eyes — and  his  heart?  Yes;  and  his  heart!  Halsey's 
face  was  dull  red.  He  was  unhappy.  The  world 
seemed  to  him  only  a  hideous  nightmare,  full  of  disap 
pointments,  injustices,  of  wrongs  that  cried  aloud  for 


278  JOHN    RAWN 

righting.   Ah,  the  comparison  now  was  here,  fair  and 
full  and  unavoidable! 

VII 

"No,  you  didn't  know,"  said  he  slowly.  "A  lot  of 
people  don't.  Now  let  me  tell  you  a  few  things  more. 
You  didn't  know  that  something  like  a  year  ago  your 
father  told  me  that  he'd  make  me  a  present  of  fifty- 
thousand  dollars  the  day  I  could  run  a  car  from  the 
factory  to  this  place  on  a  charge  taken  from  our  own 
overhead  receiver-motors." 

"A  start  for  a  million  dollars!"  she  murmured. 
"You  get  that — when  you  succeed?" 

"Yes,  that  is  to  say,  I  could  have  had  that  any  day 
in  the  week  these  past  eight  months — if  he  really  has 
got  that  much  left  where  he  can  realize  on  it.  He's 
pretty  well  spread  out." 

"Then  you  have  had  it — what  have  you  done  with 
the  money  ?" 

"I  presume  I  look  as  though  I'd  spent  or  could 
spend  a  mere  fifty  thousand  dollars  or  so,  don't  I?" 
was  his  quiet  answer.  "No,  I  didn't  have  it,  and  I 
haven't  got  it.  I'll  say  this  much  to  you,  however, 
that  I  ran  my  little  old  car  over  here  to-night  on  a 
charge  taken  out  of  one  of  the  overhead  receiver- 
motors  of  the  International  Power  Company — a  motor 
completed  on  my  own  ideas,  and  by  my  own  hands. 
It's  mine,  I  tell  you — mine!" 

"Charley!"  She  caught  him  by  the  wrists,  with 
both  hands,  eagerly.  "You  can  give  me  the  things 
I've  got  used  to  having!  I'll  go  back — oh!  I'll  go 
back — we'll  go  on  together !  I  hate  her  so — you  don't 
know !" 


FOUR   BEING   NO   COMPANY         279 

"That's  nice  of  you,  Grace;  but  you've  guessed 
wrong.  I've  not  got  that  fifty  thousand  yet." 

"But  you  can  have." 

"Yes,  I  can.  What  could  I  buy  with  it?  For  one 
thing,  I  could  buy  back  my  wife  ?" 

"But  Charley !    We're  rich !    You've  succeeded !" 

"No,  I  am  poor,  I've  failed.  I'm  just  beginning  to 
see  how  much  I've  failed !" 

"If  you  don't  tell  me  the  truth  about  this  I'll  do  it 
myself!"  she  exclaimed  fiercely.  "You've  not  been 
loyal— you've  taken  pay!" 

"Your  father  took  his  pay  from  me,"  was  his  half- 
savage  answer.  "He's  been  paid  enough !  As  for  me, 
I  don't  want  any  more  of  this  sort  of  pay." 

"What  are  you  going  to  do — you're  not  going  to 
sell  out  to  some  one  else?" 

"No,  my  dear,  I'm  not  going  to  do  precisely  what 
you  suggested  I  should  do  just  a  moment  ago.  I'm  not 
going  to  sell  out.  I  could  do  that,  too,  and  make  more 
than  any  fifty  thousand.  The  foreman  in  our  fac 
tory,  who  knows  very  little,  can  sell  out  to-morrow 
morning  for  ten  thousand  dollars,  maybe  double  or 
treble  that  now.  The  watchman  on  our  door  can  sell 
out  when  he  likes.  We  can  all  sell  out,  any  of  us  sell 
out.  But  we  haven't!  If  there  has  been  any  selling 
out  it  has  been  done  by  those  who  built  this  place  here 
— the  place  which  you  found  better  than  the  best  home 
I  could  offer  you." 

She  sat  back  stiff,  silent,  somber.    "You — you  never 

mean  that  you  are  going  to  throw  this  away,  then!" 

/  she  asked  at  length.  "What  earthly  good  will  that  do  ? 

'  Pa'll  have  it  out  of  you  somehow !    I'll — I'm  going  to 

tell  him!" 


280  JOHN   RAWN 

'Try  it,"  said  Charles  Halsey  easily. 
She  had  courage.     "Father,"  she  called  out.    "Pa! 
Come  here — at  once !" 

VIII 

Rawn  rose  suddenly  up  from  his  chair  at  the  start 
ling  quality  in  her  voice.  "What's  that,  Grace?"  he 
called  across  the  long  gallery. 

"Come  here,  I  want  you !  We've  got  something  to 
say  to  you." 

Halsey  sat  motionless. 

Rawn  approached  slowly,  obviously  annoyed.  "If 
it's  important — "  he  began.  He  had  found  love-making 
to  his  young  wife  especially  delicious  this  evening,  al 
though  he  mistook  her  strange  silence  and  preoccu 
pation  merely  for  wifely  coyness. 

"It  is  important!"  Grace  exclaimed;  and  rising, 
clutched  at  his  arm. 

"Well,  then,  what's  it  all  about,  what's  it  about? 
Come,  come !" 

"Charley's  done  it,  he's  got  it — he's  got  the  machines 
finished — over  there — !"  Her  voice  was  almost  a 
scream,  hoarse,  croaking.  She  stood  bent,  tense. 

"What's  that?"  demanded  Rawn.  "What  do  you 
mean  ?  Is  that  the  truth,  boy  ?" 

"He  came  over  in  his  own  car,  under  International 
overhead — he  told  me  so,  right  now,"  she  went  on, 
half  hysterically.  "You  owe  him  money — a  lot,  a  pile 
of  money — he  told  me  so  right  now — it's  worth  more 
than  any  fifty  thousand.  Oh,  we're  going  to  have 
money  too.  You  see !" 

Rawn  shook  off  her  arm  and  half  flung  her  back  in 


FOUR   BEING   NO    COMPANY          281 

her  chair.  "What's  this  about,  Halsey  ?"  he  said.  "Is 
it  true?" 

Halsey  nodded  calmly,  but  said  nothing. 

Rawn  half-assailed  him,  his  large  hand  on  his  shoul 
der.  "Did  you  get  the  current?"  he  demanded.  "Did 
you  really  come  over  under  power  out  of  one  of  our 
overheads  ?" 

"Yes,  to-night,"  said  Halsey  calmly.  "Often  be 
fore." 

IX 

"Why,  my  boy,  my  boy!"  began  John  Rawn.  At 
once  he  stood  back,  large,  complaisant,  jubilant.  "My 
boy !"  was  all  he  could  say.  Not  even  his  soul  could  at 
once  figure  out  in  full  acceptance  all  the  future  which 
these  quiet  words  implied. 

"Come!"  he  explained  after  a  moment,  excitedly. 
"Let's  get  to  the  telephone!  I  want  the  wires  right 
away !  I'll  make  a  million  out  of  this  before  morning !" 

"And  write  me  a  check  for  my  fifty  thousand  to 
night  ?"  smiled  Halsey. 

"Surely  I  will — I've  told  you  I  would — I'll  do  more 
than  that — I'll  make  it  a  twenty-five  thousand  extra 
for  good  measure.  I'll  have  the  check  taken  care  of 
to-morrow  at  my  bank,  as  soon  as  I  can  get  down 
town!  Oh,  things'll  begin  to  happen  now,  I  promise 
you!" 

"I  wouldn't  be  in  too  big  a  hurry  to  use  the  wire, 
Mr.  Rawn,"  said  Charles  Halsey  quietly.  "And  never 
mind  about  your  check." 

"What  do  you  mean?  You're  going  to  try  to  hold 
me  up?" 


282  JOHN   RAWN 

"No,  I'm  not  going  to  try  to  hold  you  up  at  all.  If 
there's  any  question  about  that  possibility,  I  can  get 
a  million  to-morrow  as  easily  as  I  can  any  fraction  of 
a  million  to-night,  Mr.  Rawn,  and  it's  just  as  well  you 
should  know  that,  perhaps." 

"A  million?"  croaked  John  Rawn.  "You'd  sell  us 
out?" 

"No,  I  said.  I'm  not  going  to  sell  you  out,  Mr. 
Rawn.  And  you're  not  going  to  buy  me  out." 

"Of  course  not,  of  course  not,"  laughed  Rawn 
hoarsely.  "You  didn't  understand  me." 

"You  haven't  understood  me  either,  Mr.  Rawn. 
Now,  what  would  you  do  if  I  told  you  that  after  tak 
ing  my  charge  for  the  little  car  yonder  I  turned  about 
and  dismantled  every  motor  in  the  shop — destroyed 
them  all — locked  up  the  secret,  ended  the  whole  game 
now — to-night?  What  would  you  say  to  that?" 

"By  God !  I'd  kill  you !"  said  John  Rawn. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  STEP-MOTHER-IN-LAW. 


ON  this  very  beautiful  evening1,  in  this  very  beauti 
ful  scene — as  beautiful  as  any  to  be  found  in  all 
that  luxurious  portion  of  a  great  city  representing  the 
flower  of  a  great  country's  civilization — Graystone 
Hall  was  a  double  stage.  At  the  back  of  the  tall  man 
sion  house  countless  auto-cars  passed  in  brilliant  pro 
cession,  carrying  countless  men  and  women,  personal 
evidences  of  all  the  ease  and  luxury  that  wealth  can 
bring;  and  of  these  who  passed,  the  most  part  looked 
in  with  envy  at  the  tall  mansion  house  beyond  the 
curving  lines  of  shrubbery,  brilliantly  illuminated  now, 
the  picture  of  beauty  and  ease,  of  peace  and  content. 
More  than  one  soft-voiced  woman  murmured,  "Beau 
tiful  !"  as  she  passed.  More  than  one  man,  more  than 
one  woman,  envied  the  owners  of  this  palace. 

"He's  awfully  gone  on  his  wife,  they  say,"  com 
mented  one  young  matron,  much  as  many  did.  "Not 
that  I  see  much  in  her  myself — although  she  seems  to 
have  a  sort  of  way  about  her,  after  all." 

"Lucky  beggar!"  growled  her  husband. 

"Yes,  they're  both  lucky." 

That  both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rawn  were  lucky  seemed  to 

283 


284  JOHN   RAWN 

be  the  consensus  of  opinion  of  the  procession  of  those 
passing  at  this  moment  along  the  great  driveway,  and 
hence  looking  upon  the  rear  stage  of  the  drama  then 
in  progress.  But  they  saw  no  drama.  The  evening 
was  beautiful.  The  spot  was  one  of  great  beauty.  Ap 
parently  all  was  peace  and  content.  There  was  no 
drama  visible,  only  a  stage  set  for  a  scene  of  happiness. 
Yet,  two  hundred  yards  from  the  point  of  this  be 
lief,  on  the  stage  of  the  dimly-lighted  gallery  facing 
the  lake,  the  comedy  of  life  and  ambition,  of  success 
and  sorrow,  moved  on  briskly ;  moved,  indeed,  to  its  ap 
pointed  and  inevitable  end. 


ii 

Rawn's  voice,  harsh,  half  animal  in  its  savagery, 
wakened  some  sudden  kindred  savagery  in  young 
Halsey's  soul.  In  a  flash  the  spark  rose  between  steel 
and  flint.  The  accumulated  resentment  of  many  days 
made  tinder  enough  for  Halsey  now. 

"All  right,  Mr.  Rawn,"  said  he,  his  head  dropping, 
his  chin  extended.  "Go  on  with  the  killing  now,  if 
you  like.  I'm  going  to  tell  you  right  here,  that  sort  of 
talk  will  do  you  no  good.  If  you  kill  me  you  kill  my 
secret.  It  isn't  yours,  and  neither  you  nor  any  other 
man  is  apt  to  set  it  going  again." 

"You  hound,  you  cur!"  half  sobbed  Rawn.  His 
daughter  stood,  tense,  silent,  unnoticed  at  his  elbow. 

"Thank  you !  Now,  I'll  tell  you.  I  dismantled  every 
motor,  and  I'm  never  going  to  build  them  again  for 
you.  I  meant  every  word  of  what  I  said.  Also  I  mean 
this !" 

As  he  spoke  he  rose  and  struck  Rawn  full  in  the 


THE    STEP-MOTHER-IN-LAW  285 

face  with  his  half-clenched  hand.  The  sound  of  the 
blow  could  have  been  heard  the  whole  length  of  the 
gallery — was  so  heard.  An  instant  later,  half  roaring, 
John  Rawn  closed  with  the  younger  man.  .  .  . 

The  women,  plucking  at  their  arms,  could  do  noth 
ing  to  separate  the  two,  indeed  were  not  noticed  in 
the  struggle.  As  to  that,  the  whole  matter  was  over 
in  an  instant.  Halsey  was  far  the  stronger  of  the  two. 
He  caught  the  right  wrist  of  Rawn  as  he  smote  down 
clumsily,  caught  his  other  wrist  in  the  next  instant, 
and  then  slowly,  by  sheer  strength,  forced  him  back 
and  down  until  at  last  he  crowded  him  into  the  chair 
which  Grace  a  moment  earlier  had  vacated.  The  bony 
ringers  of  his  hand  worked  havoc  on  John  Rawn's 
wrist,  on  his  twisted  arm.  Halsey  was  not  so  long 
from  his  college  athletics,  where  he  had  been  welcome 
on  several  teams.  He  was  younger  than  Rawn,  his 
body  was  harder  from  hard  work  and  abstemiousness. 
He  was  the  older  man's  master. 

"Sit  down !"  he  panted.  "I  don't  think  you'll  do  this 
killing  very  soon !" 

in 

Rawn,  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  faced  a  situation 
which  he  could  not  dominate  by  arrogance  and  blus 
ter.  For  the  first  time  in  his  life  he  had  met  another 
man,  body  to  body,  in  actual  physical  encounter ;  and 
that  man  was  his  master !  All  at  once  the  conscious 
ness  of  this  flashed  through  every  fiber  of  him,  bodily 
and  mental.  He  had  met  a  man  stronger  than  him 
self — yes,  stronger  both  in  body  and  in  mind.  The 
consciousness  of  that  latter  truth  also  sank  deep  into 
his  heart.  It  was  a  moment  of  horror  for  him.  He, 


286  JOHN   RAWN 

John  Rawn,  master  of  this  place,  rich,  happy,  pros 
perous — he,  John  Rawn,  beaten — subdued — it  could 
not  be !  Heaven  never  would  permit  that ! 

They  all  remained  tense,  silent,  motionless,  for  just 
half  an  instant ;  it  seemed  to  them  a  long  time.  Halsey 
at  length  straightened  and  turned  toward  the  door. 

"I'm  going,"  said  he  dully.   "Good  by,  Grace." 

Rawn  turned,  confused,  distracted.  He  cared  for  no 
more  of  the  physical  testing  of  this  difference.  But  he 
saw  Success  passing  in  the  reviled  figure  of  his  son-in- 
law.  "No,  no!"  he  cried — "Jennie — he  fouled  me — 
but  don't  let  him  go — he'll  ruin  us,  do  you  hear  ?" 

Halsey  was  within  the  tall  glass  doors  and  passing 
toward  the  front  entry.  He  heard  the  rustle  of  skirts 
back  of  him  and  felt  a  light  hand  upon  his  shoulder. 

"Well,"  he  began;  and  turning,  faced  young  Mrs. 
Rawn ! 

IV 

"I'm  sorry,"  he  stammered,  "it's  disgraceful.  I  beg 
your  pardon  with  all  my  heart.  But  I  couldn't  help  it. 
He  struck  me  first  with  what  he  said.  He  threatened 
me.  Let  me  go.  I'll  never  come  back  here  again.  I'm 
sorry — on  your  account — " 

"Charles,"  she  said  softly,  "Charley,  wait.  Where 
are  you  going?" 

"To  the  divorce  courts,  and  then  to  hell." 

"But  you  mustn't  go  away  like  this.  I'm  sorry,  too. 
Wait!" 

Suddenly  moved  by  some  swift,  irresistible  impulse, 
perhaps  born  of  this  unregulated  scene  where  all  seem 
ly  control  seemed  set  aside,  she  put  both  her  white  bare 
arms  about  his  neck  and  looked  full  into  his  eyes,  her 


THE   STEP-MOTHER-IN-LAW          287 

own  eyes  bright.  He  caught  her  white  wrists  in  his 
hands  ;  but  did  not  put  away  her  arms.  He  stood  look 
ing  at  her,  frowning,  uncertain.  His  blood  flamed. 

"It's  disgrace,"  he  said,  "I  admit  it.  I  can't  square 
it  any  way  in  the  world.  I'm  sorry  on  your  account — 
awfully  sorry !"  His  blood  flamed,  flamed.  f 

"Listen!"  she  said,  panting,  eager,  her  voice  with 
some  strange,  new,  compelling  quality  in  it,  foreign  to 
her  as  to  himself.  "You  mustn't  go.  You  mustn't 
ruin  the  future  of  us  all  in  just  a  minute  of  temper. 
You  mustn't  ruin  yourself,  or — me.  Besides,  there's 
Grace!" 

"Oh,  Grace!" 

"But  she's  your  wife." 

"Not  any  longer.  She's  chosen  for  herself.  She  left 
me  and  would  not  come  back.  I'm  going  now.  I'm 
on  my  own  from  this  time." 

"Why  not?"  she  asked  coolly.  "But  why  wreak 
ruin  on  us  all  ?  You  don't  stop  to  think !" 

"Yes,  it  will  set  him  back  pretty  badly—"  Halsey 
nodded  toward  the  bowed  frame  of  Rawn,  dimly  vis 
ible,  in  the  gallery's  shade,  through  the  tall  glass  doors. 

"Yes,"  she  said  slowly,  "he's  my  husband,  surely." 

— "Who  has  given  you  everything." 

She  nodded,  her  arms  still  about  his  neck.  "Let  me 
think  this  out  for  all  of  us,  Charley.  Keep  matters  as 
they  are  until  I  have  time  to  think — won't  you  do  that 
much — just  that  little — for  me?" 

His  hands  were  still  upon  her  wrists  as  he  looked 
'down  upon  her  from  his  height,  his  eyes  angry,  his 
face  frowning,  disturbed.  Worn  almost  to  gauntness, 
tall,  sinewy,  of  a  certain  distinction  in  look,  as  he 
stood  there  before  her  now  an  ignorant  observer  might 


288  JOHN   RAWN 

have  thought  the  two  lovers,  he  her  lover,  not  her 
stepson,  she  at  the  least  his  younger  sister,  surely  not 
his  mother  by  mixed  marriage. 


As  they  stood  thus,  Rawn  turning,  saw  them  through 
the  tall  glass  door.  His  face  grew  eager.  "He's  not 
gone,"  he  whispered  hoarsely  to  his  daughter,  who 
stood  rigid,  close  at  his  arm.  "She's  got  him!  By 
Jove !  She's  a  wonder — my  wife,  my  wife — she'll  land 
him  yet — she  will !" 

"Do  you  see  that  ?"  hissed  Grace  at  last,  pointing  at 
the  door. 

"Do  I  see  it — didn't  you  hear  me  ?  Yes,  of  course  I 
see  it!" 

"And  you'll  allow  that,  between  your  wife  and  my 
husband  ?" 

"Allow  it — wife! — why!  damn  you,  girl,  what  are 
you  talking  about — wives  and  husbands? — what's  that 
to  do  with  this?  There's  many  a  million  dollars  up 
now,  I  tell  you,  on  those  two  standing  there.  You  make 
a  move  now — say  a  word — and  I'll  wring  your  neck, 
do  you  hear?"  He  caught  her  by  the  wrist.  She  sank 
into  a  chair,  sobbing  bleakly. 

A  moment  later  the  two  figures  beyond  the  door 
stood  a  trifle  apart.  The  arms  of  Virginia  Rawn 
dropped  from  Halsey's  neck.  She  laid  a  hand  upon  his 
arm  and,  side  by  side,  neither  looking  out  toward  the 
gallery,  they  drew  deeper  into  the  room,  behind  the 
shelter  of  a  heavy  silken  curtain  which  shut  off  the 
view. 

It  was  a  beautiful  night.    The  long  ladder  of  the 


THE    STEP-MOTHER-IN-LAW  289 

moon  still  lay  across  the  gently  rippling  lake,  which 
murmured  at  the  foot  of  Graystone  Hall's  retaining 
sea-wall.  The  scent  of  flowers  was  about.  It  was  a 
scene  of  peace  and  beauty  and  content.  John  Rawn 
and  his  daughter  remained  upon  the  gallery  for  a  time. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  SECOND   CURRENT 


"f^HARLES,"  said  Virginia   Rawn,   "Charley—" 

^.^  And  always  her  white  hand  touched  his  shoul 
der,  his  arm,  his  hand —  "You  really  mustn't  go.  Be 
lieve  me,  you'll  both  be  sorry  to-morrow.  You  don't 
know  what  you're  doing!  You're  only  angry  now. 
You'll  both  be  sorry."  Her  eyes  glowed,  evaded. 

Halsey  shook  his  head.  "It's  all  over,  so  far  as  I'm 
concerned."  His  eyes,  glowing,  sought  hers. 

"Why,  Charley,  boy,  that's  all  foolishness.  Don't 
you  know  how  wrong  it  is  to  talk  in  that  way  ?  .What 
hasn't  Mr.  Rawn  done  for  you  ?  And  she's  your  wife !" 

"He  has  done  little  for  me  and  much  for  himself,"  he 
answered  hotly.  "As  for  her,  his  daughter,  she  left 
me  for  him  and  what  he  could  give  her.  She  liked  this 
sort  of  thing  rather  better  than  what  I  could  do  for 
her.  She  weighed  it  up,  one  side  against  the  other, 
and  she  chose  this.  Most  women  would,  I  suppose." 

"Charley,  how  you  talk!"  Her  voice,  reproving, 
none  the  less  was  very  gentle,  very  soft.  "One  would 
think  you  were  a  regular  misanthrope.  The  next  thing, 
you'll  be  saying  that  I  was  that  sort  of  a  woman  be- 

290 


THE   SECOND   CURRENT  291 

cause  /  live  here.  Of  course,  other  things  being  equal, 
any  woman  likes  comfort.  But  you  seem  to  think  that 
we  all  would  choose  luxury  to  love." 

"Don't  you — don't  you  all  ?"  demanded  the  unhappy 
youth.  "Some  do,  of  course.  Would  you?  Haven't 
you?"  He  was  reckless,  brutal,  now.  The  young 
woman  before  him  started,  shivered.  She  passed  a 
hand  gropingly  across  her  bosom,  across  her  brow. 


II 

There  was)  a  strained,  very  strong  quality  in  the 
air  of  Graystone  Hall  that  evening.  Thought  seemed 
to  leap  to  thought,  mind  to  mind,  swiftly,  without  trou 
ble  for  many  words.  These  two  at  last  looked  at  each 
other  face  to  face,  deliberately,  she  gazing  beneath 
heavy,  half-closed  lids,  a  superb,  a  beautiful  woman, 
a  creature  for  any  man's  admiration.  He  was  a  manly 
young  chap.  He  stood  a  victor,  as  she  had  seen  but 
now.  He  gazed  at  her  out  of  eyes  open  and  direct. 
Reckless,  brutal  in  his  despair,  he  now  allowed — for  the 
first  time  in  all  their  many  meetings — his  heart  to  show 
through  his  eyes.  For  the  first  time,  their  eyes  met  full. 

"You  must  not  ask  that,"  said  she  quickly.  "I 
wouldn't  want  to  tell  you  anything  but  the  truth 
about  it."  She  was  breathing  faster  now. 

"What  is  the  truth  about  it  ?  I  want  to  know  if  any 
woman  is  worth  while.  I'm  down  and  out  myself,  and 
it  doesn't  matter  for  me.  I  just  wondered." 

"I  used  to  see  you  often  about  the  office,"  said  she 
irrelevantly,  "when  you  came  in  to  see  Mr.  Rawn.  I 
rather  thought  Grace  was  lucky,  then!  I  was  just  a 
girl  then,  you  know,  Charley." 


292  JOHN   RAWN 

"What  do  you  mean,  Mrs.  Rawn?" 

"Nothing.   What  did  you  think  I  meant?" 

"I  didn't  know.  I've  never  dared  think  much.  I 
supposed  everything  was  going  to  come  out  right 
somehow.  Now  it's  come  out  wrong.  I  don't  know 
just  where  it  began.  Don't  you  see,  Mrs.  Rawn,  it's 
all  like  a  faulty  conclusion  in  logic?  It  builds  up  fine 
.for  a  long  time.  Then  all  at  once  things  go  wrong — 
it's  absurd,  and  you  wonder  why.  Well,  it's  because 
there's  what  you  call  a  faulty  premise  somewhere  down 
close  to  the  start.  If  that's  the  case,  there  isn't  anything 
in  all  the  world  is  ever  going  to  make  a  conclusion 
come  out  right.  I  reckon  there's  a  wrong  premise 
somewhere  down  in  my  life,  or  ours,  or  in  this!" — He 
swept  an  arm,  indicating  Mr.  Rawn's  opulent  sur 
roundings. 

"I'm  only  a  woman,  Charley.  Maybe  I  don't  under 
stand  you." 

"Well,  I'll  tell  you.  There's  wealth,  luxury,  every 
thing  here.  Where  did  they  get  it?  They  took  more 
than  their  share." 

"Now  you're  talking  like  a  Socialist.  Mr.  Rawn 
tells  me  you  are  a  Socialist,  Charley." 

"I  don't  believe  I  am.  But  I  believe  a  good  many 
would  be  if  they'd  gone  through  what  I  have.  Now, 
what  those  two  took,  they  took  from  me — what  you've 
got  here  you  got  from  me.  I  don't  mind  that.  The 
big  trouble  is — the  wrong  premise  about  it  is — that 
what  they  took  they  took  from  this  people,  this  coun 
try.  And  there  are  so  many  who  even  are  hungry." 

"Oh,  we'd  never  get  done  if  we  began  that  way! 
All  success  does  that  way,  you  know  that.  Not  all 
can  be  rich."  Her  eyes  still  came  about  to  him. 


THE   SECOND   CURRENT  293 

"Yes,  all  success  succeeds — until  that  wrong  premise 
comes  out.  Then  there's  trouble!" 


in 

"Are  you  going  to  sell  us  out,  Charley?"  she  de 
manded  suddenly. 

"I  never  sold  out  anybody.  I'm  the  one  that's  been 
sold  out." 

"Aren't  we  your  real  friends?" 

"No.  You  ought  to  be,  but  you  aren't.  The  only 
friends  I've  got  are  over  there  in  the  factory — Jim  and 
Ann  Sullivan,  Tim  Carney — a  few  of  the  working-men 
that  stuck  it  through.  They've  killed  five  men  for  us 
over  there.  Their  sluggers  are  out  all  the  time.  As  for 
me,  I  don't  fit  in,  either  there  or  here.  Look  here,  Mrs. 
Rawn,"  he  went  on,  turning  upon  her  suddenly  and 
placing  his  hand  impulsively  on  hers.  "Let  me  tell 
you  something.  I  haven't  sold  out — I'm  not  going  to. 
Where  do  you  stand  yourself  ?" 

Her  eyelids  fluttered.  "Charley,"  said  she,  "you 
know  better  than  to  ask  me  that." 

"Yes,  I  suppose  I  do,"  he  answered  slowly  and  bit 
terly.  "You  stand  for  this  place,  for  everything  that 
money  can  buy.  Have  they  made  you  happy  ?  I  often 
wonder — does  money  really  make  people  happy?  Are 
you  happy?"  His  eyes  were  very  somber,  very  direct. 

"I  wonder  if  I  am,"  said  she  suddenly ;  "and  I  won 
der  how  you  dare  ask  me.  Oh,  I'll  admit  to  you  I've 
been  ambitious,  and  always  will  be.  But  do  you  know, 
some  time  I'd  like  to  talk  with  your  friend — with  Ann 
Sullivan !" 

"Then  you'd  begin  to  get  at  life.    You'd  be  getting 


294  JOHN   RAWN 

down  to  premises,  then,  that  aren't  wrong — with  Ann 
Sullivan  and  her  sort!" 

''What  do  you  mean?" 

"Oh,  well,  I  reckon  you'd  only  find  a  little  sincerity 
and  honesty,  and,  well — maybe — love,  that's  all.  Just 
the  things  I  didn't  get  myself.  Have  you  ?" 

"Why  didn't  you  ?"    She  ignored  his  brutal  query. 

"Because  I'm  a  theorist.  Because  I'm  a  visionary 
and  a  fool,  I  reckon.  Because  I  like  to  see  fair  play 
even  in  a  dog  fight,  and  the  people  of  this  country 
aren't  getting  fair  play.  Because  I'm  the  sort  of  fool 
that  Mr.  Rawn  isn't.  There's  the  difference ! 

"Are  you  happy,  Mrs.  Rawn?"  again  he  demanded 
suddenly,  since  she  still  was  silent.  "Tell  me  the  truth. 
I  think  you  know  I'm  not  going  to  talk.  I'm  going 
away  somewhere — anyhow  for  the  summer.  I  suppose, 
maybe,  this  is  the  last  time  I'll  ever  see  you — in  all  my 
life." 

She  felt  the  candor  of  his  speech  and  replied  in  like 
kind,  smiling  slowly.  "No  use  my  lying,"  she  said. 
"You  know  I'm  not  happy.  And,  yes,  I  know  you'll 
not  talk.  Who  is  happy?  We  all  just  get  on  just  the 
best  we  can.  I  can  take  my  joy  in  making  other  women 
envy  me.  Isn't  that  about  what  all  women  want  ?  Isn't 
that  the  height  and  limit  of  their  ambition?  Isn't  that 
success,  so  far  as  a  woman  is  concerned?  Don't  they 
cling  to  it,  all  of  them — till  they  get  old  ?  I  suppose  so, 
but  I  know  it  isn't  happiness.  Yes,  I'll  admit  to  you  I 
do  miss  something."  His  eyes  rested  upon  her, 
searching. 

Unconsciously  she  looked  down  at  her  wrists.  The 
red  mark  of  his  fingers  still  lingered  there.  "I'll  have 
to  ask  Ann  Sullivan  some  time,"  she  laughed. 


THE    SECOND   CURRENT  295 

"One  thing,"  answered  Halsey.  "She'd  tell  you  that 
she  isn't  trying  to  get  the  envy  of  her  neighbors.  I 
don't  believe  she'd  be  happy  in  that !" 

"Oh,  but  she's  fresh  over — she's  not  American  yet, 
don't  you  see?  She  hasn't  had  a  chance — you  can't 
tell  what  she  would  do  if  she  were  rich." 


IV 

"There  are  two  ways  of  looking  at  it,"  said  Halsey 
musingly,  his  anger  passing,  now  leaving  him  medita 
tive,  relaxed.  They  were  talking  now  as  though  there 
were  not  two  others,  unhappy,  waiting  on  the  gallery 
near  by.  "I'll  tell  you  something,  if  you'll  let  me  talk 
about  myself,  Mrs.  Rawn." 

"Goon;  I'm  glad!" 

"I  don't  suppose  you  care  for  things  that  interest 
me.  You  called  me  a  Socialist.  I'll  admit  that  I 
studied  a  lot  about  that,  attended  their  meetings,  all 
that  sort  of  thing.  Maybe  that  made  me  think.  It 
seems  to  me  that  money  is  rolling  up  too  fast  in  this 
country  now — we're  all  mad  about  money.  It's  like 
the  big  apple  with  no  taste  to  it.  I  had  it  offered  me  to 
choose  between  those  two,  and  I  took  the  little  apple 
that  to  me  seemed  sweeter. 

"Now,  I've  perfected  that  invention.  It'll  make 
somebody  rich  any  time  I  say  the  word — any  time  I 
like  that  big  apple  and  not  the  little  one — any  time  I 
like  that  success  which  comes  from  outside  and  not 
from  inside.  But  I've  figured  that  that  doesn't  mean 
happiness.  Maybe  I'm  wrong.  I  don't  know.  Some 
how  I  believe  that  Abraham  Lincoln,  or  John  Ruskin, 
or  Jim  Sullivan,  or  Tim,  or  Ann,  or  Sir  Isaac  Newton 


296  JOHN   RAWN 

— any  thinking  person — any  philosopher — would  come 
in  with  me  about  this.  I  broke  up  the  machines." 

"Why — where  it  meant   ruin?" 

"Because  they'd  tighten  up  the  grip  of  a  few  men  on 
the  neck  of  the  people !  I  don't  know  whether  you  call 
that  being  a  Socialist  or  not,  and  I  don't  care.  Change 
is  coming.  It's  not  the  fault  of  the  poor  that  it's  coming. 
It's  the  fault  of  the  rich.  I  broke  them  up — because 
things  can't  go  on  this  way,  money  rolling  up  all  the 
time  for  a  few,  and  life  getting  harder  all  the  time  for 
so  many.  God  didn't  make  the  rivers  and  the  moun 
tains  and  the  forests  for  that  purpose — to  give  them 
to  a  few.  We've  got  to  make  changes,  and  big  ones,  in 
this  government,  or  we're  gone.  I'm  no  Socialist  at  all. 
I  don't  want  what  some  one  else  has  won — if  he's  won 
it  fair.  But  the  wrong  is  in  our  government — the  very 
one  of  all  on  earth  that  meant  fair  play.  We  don't  get 
it — now.  Some  day  we  must.  I  don't  see  what  differ 
ence  it  makes  what  name  you  give  the  new  form  of  gov 
ernment.  There  must  be  change,  that's  all ;  or  else 
we're  gone ! 

"Well  now,  what  they  wanted  me  to  do  was  to  give 
that  all  to  a  few.  I  couldn't  do  it !  By  God !  Mrs. 
Rawn,  I  faced  it  and  I  tried,  and  I  couldn't  do  it! 
Maybe  I  was  wrong.  Anyhow,  here  I  stand." 


"Do  you  know,"  she  said  at  length,  slowly,  "these 
are  things  that  never  came  to  my  mind  in  all  my  life? 
I  never  in  all  my  life  thought  of  any  of  these  things. 
I  only  wanted — " 

"You    wanted   to    win.     You    wanted    what   most 


THE   SECOND   CURRENT  297 

American  women  do — money — station — power — to  be 
envied;  that's  what  you  played  for.  Well,  you've 
won!  Look  at  all  this  about  you.  I  don't  suppose 
there's  a  woman  in  this  town  more  admired  by  men  or 
more  envied  by  women  than  you.  You've  got  what 
you  craved,  I  reckon." 

"I  thought  I  had.  But  now,  to-night,  I'm  not  so 
sure!" 

"You  couldn't  give  it  up,"  he  sneered,  "any  more 
than  Grace  could,  and  she  couldn't  any  more  than  a 
leopard  could  change  its  spots.  It  goes  too  deep. 
You  couldn't  expect  anything  different. 

"I  told  you  I  was  a  student,  Mrs.  Rawn,"  he  went 
on  after  a  time.  "I  haven't  got  much  mind.  But  some 
how,  while  I  don't  suppose  religion  can  change  busi 
ness  very  much,  I  think  of  those  twelve  disciples  and 
their  Master,  trying  to  lift  the  load  off  of  human 
beings,  trying  to  lift  the  people  of  the  world  up  above 
the  day  of  tooth  and  claw.  I  don't  reckon  they  can  do 
it.  But  you  see,  each  fellow  has  to  choose  for  him 
self.  I've  had  this  put  before  me.  I  could  have  thrown 
in  with  Rawn — I  can  do  so  yet,  right  here,  now,  as 
you  know.  I  can  hold  him  up,  as  he  would  hold  me 
up,  or  any  one  else — I  can  take  his  money — fifty- 
thousand,  a  million — I  don't  think  he's  really  got  as 
much  money  as  most  people  think.  He's  in  debt,  deep. 
That's  all  right  so  long  as  your  credit  is  good.  He  has 
had  all  sorts  of  credit — and  it  depended  on  me — on  my 
invention.  It  wasn't  his.  It  isn't  going  to  be.  I've 
told  you  why. — But  you  see,  I  could  make  him  divide 
even  with  me — make  him  take  a  third,  a  fourth,  of 
what  I'd  won.  He'd  have  to  come  to  terms.  He 
knows  that.  All  right,  I'm  not  going  to  do  it!  Fail- 


298  JOHN   RAWN 

ure  as  I  am,  I've  got  a  few  ideas  which  I  think  are 
right.  Maybe  I  got  them  from  Ann  Sullivan — I  don't 
know !  Go  ask  her  about  things." 

"And  you  won't  put  back  the  machines?  Not  even 
for  me  ?" 

"Not  even  for  you,"  he  smiled.  "Not  that  I  know 
what  you  mean  by  that."  He  looked  at  her  keenly.  His 
toil-stained  hands  twitched  uneasily  in  his  lap. 


VI 

"You're  talking  about  things  that  never  came  into 
my  thoughts  in  all  my  life,"  said  she,  with  the  same 
strange  deliberation,  the  same  strange  direct  look  at 
him.  "But  you  couldn't  expect  an,  ignorant  woman  to 
learn  it  all  in  one  night,  could  you  ?" 

"I'm  not  trying  to  convert  you,  Mrs.  Rawn.  I'm 
going  to  leave  this  place.  You'll  not  see  me  again. 
But  I'm  not  trying  to  change  you.  I  wouldn't — " 

"Listen!"  she  broke  out  sharply.  "I'm  set  to  do 
that  for  you — I'm  expected  by  him,  out  there,  to 
change  you.  Isn't  that  the  truth?  Didn't  you  see?" 

"Yes,  it's  easy  to  see,"  he  answered  grimly.  "It's 
up  to  you." 

"It's  up  to  you  and  me,  Charley,  yes.  You  can 
ruin  me  and  all  of  us  by  walking  out  that  door.  You 
can  break  the  lives  of  those  two  people  out  there,  and 
mine,  yes,  of  course  you  can,  and  your  own. — You  can 
do  all  that.  You  can  make  me  come  down  from  this 
place  where  you  say  everybody  envies  me,  and  you  can 
have  everybody  laughing  at  me  and  forgetting  me  in 
less  than  six  months'  time.  You  can  get  me  snubbed, 
if  you  like;  you  can  make  me  wretched  and  miser- 


[THE   SECOND.   CURRENT  299 

able,  if  you  like.  .Of  course  you  can.  Do  you  want  to 
do  that?" 

"It  isn't  fair  to  put  it  before  me  in  that  way." 

"I  do  put  it  before  you  in  that  way.  But  that  isn't 
the  worst  of  what  you  could  do — you'd  leave  me  unset 
tled  and  unhappy  for  ever  if  you  went  away  to-night 
that  way — Charley ! — " 

"What  can  you  mean — ?" 

"Things  are  moving  fast  to-night,  Charley,  and 
we're  discussing  matters  pretty  openly — " 

"Yes,"  he  nodded.  "I  don't  want  to  set  a  wife 
against  her  husband.  Neither  must  you.  But  the 
truth  is,  Mr.  Rawn  is  not  what  a  good  many  think  he 
is—" 

VII 

"Do  you  think  that's  news  to  me  ?"  she  asked  of  him, 
and  looked  full  into  his  eyes. 

"Good  God,  Mrs.  Rawn !    What  do  you  mean  ?" 

"Much  what  you  do !" 

"But  you  loved  him — you  married  him !" 

"Oh,  yes,  surely.  That  was  some  months  ago.  But 
you  see,  there's  a  distinction  between  master  and  su 
perior." 

"I'm  very  miserable,"  was  his  simple  answer. 
"Things  are  getting  too  much  confused  for  me.  And 
now  you  say  you'd  never  be  happy  if  I  left  you  now, 
to-night—" 

"Then  why  go,  so  long  as  we  are  so  confused? 
Why  don't  you  wait?  I've  asked  you  to!  Do  you 
expect  to  settle  all  this  in  a  half-hour's  time,  in  a  pas 
sion  of  anger?  Now  listen.  Although  he's  my  hus 
band,  and  she's  your  wife,  I  don't  blame  you.  I'm 


300  JOHN   RAWN 

only  asking  you  to  wait  a  little.  I'm  making  it  per 
sonal,  Charley!" 

"How  dare  you  do  that,  Mrs.  Rawn?" 

"Because  I  have  the  right  to  do  it!  I  don't  intend 
to  have  you  make  me  more  unhappy  than  I  am.  I've 
just  told  you  I'm  not  happy.  I  don't  know — "  she 
laughed  a  little  amused  ripple  of  laughter — •  "but  I'd 
have  been  happier  if  he  had  handled  you  as  you  did 
him!  I'm  not  talking  just  the  way  I  meant  to  when 
I  came  through  those  doors  to  stop  you.  I'm  like  you 
— it's  all  confusing — I'll  have  to  wait,  the  same  as 
you.  There's  a  lot  of  things  to  be  figured  out!  I'm 
covetous  of  everything  in  the  world — that  any  woman 
ever  had — from  the  Queen  of  England  to  Ann  Sulli 
van  !  Yes,  I'm  ambitious,  I'll  admit  that.  And  you've 
set  me  thinking —  I'm  wondering — wondering  what 
really  is  the  best  a  woman  can  get  out  of  life." 

"Mrs.  Rawn,  you've  got  success  as  you  understand 
it,  by  marrying  a  middle-aged  man.  You're  young." 

She  shook  her  head.  "It  isn't  possible,"  said  she 
frankly,  catching  his  thought.  "I'm  far  enough  along 
to  see  that !" 

"You  know  what  Mr.  Rawn  did  when  he  wished 
to  change — he  put  away  what  he  had,  and  reached  out 
for  that  which  he  had  not.  For  my  own  part,  I  don't 
see  how  any  woman  could  be  happy  with  him.  He 
ruined  the  life  of  one  woman,  his  wife ;  of  another,  his 
daughter.  Now,  you  tell  me  he  hasn't  made  an  abso 
lutely  happy  life  for  yet  another  woman — yourself. 
Oh,  it's  brutal  for  me  to  say  it,  but  it's  true,  and  you've 
just  said  it's  true." 

"If  only  it  could  come  to  the  question  of  what  a 
woman  really  wanted — "  she  resumed,  pondering. 


THE   SECOND   CURRENT  301 

"That's  for  each  woman  to  figure  out  for  herself, 
Mrs.  Rawn.  I've  only  said  what  most  American 
women  want.  We're  living  in  a  wholesome  and  beau 
tiful  age,  Mrs.  Rawn !" 

"I  thought  I  was  right !"  said  she  suddenly,  looking 
up.  "Now  I  believe  I  was  wrong.  Charley ! — " 


VIII 

"It's  in  the  air,"  she  said,  as  though  to  herself,  after 
a  time,  finding  him  silent,  troubled,  pale.  "Don't  you 
know,  Charley — "  She  turned  to  him. 

He  leaned  toward  her  now,  his  lined  young  face  il 
luminated  with  sudden  emotion.  "I  wish  I  could 
explain  that  to  you,  Mrs.  Rawn,"  said  he.  "I  feel  it, 
too !  Now  maybe  we  can  understand !  How  did  I 
drive  my  car  over  here,  charged  from  one  of  our  over 
head  motors?  Ah,  that's  my  secret.  But  I  took  it 
out  of  the  air !  That  motor  of  ours  was  in  tune  with 
it — the  great  power  that's  in  the  air,  everywhere. 
Mrs.  Rawn,  it's  getting  in  tune  with  the  world  that 
makes  you  happy.  Nothing  else  is  going  to  do  it! 
Get  in  tune  with  the  plan!  All  I've  ever  done  in  my 
receiving-motor  has  been  to  get  in  tune  with  the  hills 
and  the  rivers  and  the  forests — with  life" 


IX 

She  leaned  toward  him  now,  that  on  her  face  which 
he  had  never  seen  there  before.  He  looked  her  fair 
in  the  eyes  and  went  on,  firmly,  strongly. 

"I've  done  that;  and  I've  said  to  myself  that  I 
wasn't  going  to  throw  that  away  and  give  it  to  a  few, 


302  JOHN   RAWN 

when  it  belonged  to  everybody.  I  am  unhappy  as  you 
are ;  more  so.  I'm  not  in  tune  with  life  as  we  live  it. 
No,  I  certainly  am  not.  But  I  know  that  to  be  per 
fectly  happy  we've  got  to  get  in  tune  with  the  purpose 
of  the  world.  What  is  it?  What  is  that  second  cur 
rent?  I  don't  know.  What  is  it?  You  tell  me— " 

"I'll  tell  you  what  I  believe,"  said  Virginia  Rawn 
slowly,  her  hands  dropping  in  her  lap,  her  face  pale. 
"I  shouldn't  wonder  if  it  was — love !" 

"And  that  belongs  to  everybody,  not  just  a  few — 
to  every  one — not  just  to  the  rich  men,  with  money 
to  buy  what  they  want  ?"  He  was  looking  at  her  keenly 
now. 

"To  everybody?"  She  shook  her  head.  "Not 
always,  Charley." 

"Why  not—Virginia?" 


CHAPTER  V 


MEANS  TO  AN   END 


Rawn  turned  toward  his  wife  a  face  years 
older  than  it  had  been  an  hour  ago,  a  face  haggard  and 
lined,  pasty  in  color.  His  bitter  agitation  was  evident 
ini  his  voice,  in  his  expression,  in  the  stoop  of  his 
shoulders — in  a  score  of  signs  not  usual  with  him. 
Virginia  was  even  more  noncommittal  than  her  wont 
as  she  faced  him.  Grace  had  disappeared, 

"What  did  you  do — how  did  you  handle  him,  Jen 
nie?"  he  began — "you  were  talking  for  over  an  hour 
there !  Did  you  manage  to  hold  things  together — will 
he  letup?'' 

She  faced  him  full  now,  as  he  stood  in  the  blaze  of 
the  electric  lights  in  the  interior  of  the  house,  where 
Halsey  had  left  her,  in  the  chair  from  which  she  had 
not  moved  since  his  departure.  Every  delicate,  clear- 
cut  feature  was  fully  visible  now.  Her  lips  just  parted 
to  show  the  double  row  of  her  white  teeth  in  a  faint 
smile.  Her  chin  was  a  trifle  up,  her  head  high. 

"He  will  wait  a  little  while,"  she  answered  quietly. 
"At  least,  I  think  so." 

"Good !  Fine !  I  knew  you'd  do  it,  Jennie !  You're 
303 


304  JOHN   RAWN 

a  wonder! — I  don't  think  there's  a  woman  in  all  tfie 
world  like  you !"  He  advanced  toward  her. 

"Don't  paw  me  over !"  she  exclaimed,  drawing  back. 

"Well,  now,  then — I  only  meant — " 

"I  don't  want  to  talk,"  she  said.  "He's  gone,  yes, 
and  he'll  not  do  anything  for  a  little  while,  I  think. 
It's  enough  for  to-night — I'm  tired.  This  has  been  a 
horrible  evening  for  me.  I  never  thought  to  see  a  time 
like  this  I" 

"Horrible  for  all  of  us!"  exclaimed  John  Rawn. 
"That  man  took  advantage  of  me  out  there — I  ought 
to  have  wrung  his  neck  for  him,  and  I  would  have 
done  it  if  it  hadn't  been  for  you  two  women.  Of 
course,  we  don't  want  scenes  if  they  can  be  avoided, 
for  there's  no  telling  what  talk  might  run  into  if  it 
got  out.  But  just  the  same,  Jennie,  don't  you  see — " 
and  his  face  assumed  a  still  more  anxious  look — "he 
can  ruin  us  all  whenever  he  gets  ready,  and  he's  wise 
enough  to  know  that.  I  can't  do  anything  with  him 
now.  Something's  gone  wrong  with  him,  and  I  don't 
know  what!" 

II 

"No,  you  don't)  know  what,"  she  said  slowly.  "I 
don't  think  you  in  the  least  imagine  what !" 

"Do  you,  then?"  he  demanded.  "If  you  do,  why 
don't  you  tell?  Do  you  know  that  everything  we've 
got  in  the  world  is  up  at  stake  on  this?  He  can  kill 
my  credit,  he  can  split  this  company  wide  open,  he 
can  break  me  in  spite  of  all.  See  what  he's  done  in 
return  for  what  I've  done  for  him!  Sometimes  I 
wonder  if  there's  such  a  thing  as  honor  left  in  the 
world!" 


MEANS    TO   AN    END  305 

"So!  Do  you?"  She  rose  now,  and  would  have 
left  him. 

"Well,  I  want  to  talk  this  over  with  you.  Please, 
Jennie.  Sit  down,"  he  said.  "Tell  me  what  you  said. 
I  want  to  know  where  things  are,  so  I  can  act  to-mor 
row — or  maybe  even  before  to-morrow.  You  don't 
realize  what  a  hole  I'm  in." 

"What  did  I  say  to  him?"  she  repeated,  looking 
down  at  her  wrists.  "Nothing  very  much.  I  told  him 
if  he  went  on  he'd  ruin  us  all ;  that  it  wasn't  right  for 
him  to  do  it.  I  told  him  we  wanted  him — I  wanted 
him — to  wait — for  my  sake." 

"For  your  sake?" 

"Yes,  I  did,"  she  answered  calmly.   "I  said  tHat." 

"It  was  best !"  he  cried,  rising  and  walking  up  and 
down,  excitedly.  "What  a  mind  you  have,  Jennie — 
what  a  woman  you  are !  Where'd  I  be  without  you,  I 
wonder  now?  Why,  of  course,  that  was  the  way! 
Any  man  will  do  anything  that  you  tell  him  to,  es 
pecially  a  young  man — of  course,  of  course !" 

"Thank  you,"  she  commented  coldly;  "thank  you 
very  much." 

in 

He  sought  to  put  a  consoling  or  an  explanatory 
hand  on  her  shoulder,  but  she  shook  him  off,  shivering. 

"I  don't  mean  anything,"  he  began  confusedly. 
"Get  me  straight,  now.  I  only  wanted  to  say  that 
when  you  work  for  me  in  this  you  are  working  for 
your  own  sake  also.  It's  all  up  to  you,  Jennie,  right 
now.  If  you  can't  land  him,  we're  gone — it's  no  use 
my  trying  to  do  anything  with  him.  Do  you  know, 
I'm  going  to  send  you  out  after  him." 


306  JOHN   RAWN 

"Send  me  out?" 

"Yes ;  things  have  to  be  done  the  best  way  they  can 
be  done.  That  fellow  can  say  one  word  which'll  ruin 
us  in  one  day's  time.  He  can  break  the  values  in 
International  more  than  we  can  mend  in  months. 
Our  men  would  begin  to  cover  as  soon  as  they  caught 
a  hint  that  anything  was  really  wrong.  As  for  me, 
I'm  spread  out  for  millions  in  the  general  market. 
If  they  began  to  hammer  me  I  couldn't  come  through 
— I  wouldn't  last  a  week.  The  thing  to  do  is  to  keep 
this  news  safe  until  I  can  protect  myself — until  I  can 
protect  us  all.  Now  it's  you,  Jennie,  that's  got  to  do 
that — it's  you!  I'm  sending  you  out  after  him." 

"I  always  thought,  Mr.  Rawn,"  said  she,  "that  you 
played  a  dangerous  game,  so  long  as  you  simply 
trusted  that  he'd  do  anything  you  told  him." 

"Yes,  I  see  it  now.  But  he  always  was  odd — he 
always  held  something  back.  I  tell  you,  he's  crazy! 
Now,  he's  either  just  crazy  over  his  fool  Socialist 
ideas,  or  else  he's  going  to  hold  out  for  a  squeeze.  In 
the  first  case  you  can  handle  him.  In  the  second,  I 
can. 

"You  see — I  couldn't  tell  our  directorate,"  he  went 
on ;  "but  there  was  always  something  lacking  which  I 
couldn't  handle  myself.  We  need  him,  and  we've  got 
to  have  him !  You  can  get  him,,  I  know  you  can.  You 
can  do  anything  you  like.  You're  wonderful !" 

She  sat  and  looked  at  him,  her  lips  still  parted  in 
the  same  enigmatic  smile  which  he  did  not  like  to  see ; 
but  she  made  no  answer. 

"What's  wrong  with  him?"  he  went  on  immediately. 
"What  does  he  say  is  the  trouble,  anyway?  And  is  it 
the  truth  that  he's  got  the  overhead  current  ?" 


MEANS   TO   AN   END  307 

She  nodded.  "Of  course,  I  know  something  about  it 
from  my  work  in  the  office.  Yes,  he  told  me  that  he 
had  done  what  you  have  all  been  trying  to  do  so  long. 
He  said  he  came  over  under  power  from  the  overhead 
— just  as  he  told  you." 

I  "He  may  be  lying,  for  all  we  know.  You  can't  look 
at  a  car  and  tell  where  its  charge  came  from.  Elec 
tricity  is  electricity,  to  all  intents  and  purposes.  What 
I  want  to  know  is,  what  he's  got  against  us,  anyhow, 
Jennie?" 

"Well,  for  one  thing,  he  seemed  troubled  because 
Grace  would  not  go  back  with  him.     He  seemed  to 
think  that  you  and  the  life  you  could  give  her  had  been 
the  reason  for  her  abandoning  him." 
1     "Why,   what  nonsense!      Grace   hasn't  abandoned 
him !    And  I  only  got  her  over  here  because  I  needed 
her  myself — before — well,  before   we  were   married. 
Who  was  to  take  care  of  me,  I'd  like  to  know?   And 
you  say  he  complains  of  that!" 
j     "That  was  one  of  the  things." 

"But  Grace  would  go  back!  She's  none  too  well 
pleased  now,  since  you  and  I  have  taken  charge 
here.  She'd  go  back  to  Charley  to-morrow  if  he  asked 
her — why,  I'd  make  him  take  care  of  her,  of  course. 
The  trouble  with  him  is,  he  values  his  own  personal 
affairs  too  much.  That's  no  way  to  begin  in  the  busi 
ness  world.  A  man  has  to  bend  everything  to  the  one 
purpose  of  success.  Look  at  me,  for  instance." 


IV 

She  did  look  at  him,  calmly,  coldly,  without  the 
tremor  of  an  eyelid,  without  raising  a  hand  to  touch 


3o8  K>HN   RAWN 

him  as  he  stood  close  by,  without  indeed  making  any 
verbal  answer.  A  slight  shudder  passed  over  her,  vis 
ible  in  the  twitch  of  her  shoulders. 

"It's  getting  cooler!"  he  exclaimed.  "I'll  fetch  a 
wrap  for  you."  And  so  hastened  away,  obsequious, 
uxorious,  as  he  always  was  with  her. 

"But  Charley  never  would  take  any  counsel  from 
anybody,"  resumed  he  presently.  "He's  always  been 
tractable  enough,  that's  true;  never  raised  much  of  a 
disturbance  until  to-night — I  don't  see  why  he  cut  up 
so  ugly  now.  He's  not  crazy  over  Grace,  and  if  the 
truth  be  told,  Grace  isn't  the  sort  of  girl  that  a  man 
would  get  crazy  over.  You're  that  sort." 

"Perhaps  not,"  she  smiled  faintly.  "Just  the  same, 
Grace's  attitude  may  have  started  him  to  thinking. 
When  he  began  thinking  he  seemed  to  conclude  that  all 
the  world  was  wrong." 

"And  he's  starting  in  to  set  it  right!  He's  going 
in  for  the  uplift  stunt,  eh?  That's  the  way  with  a  lot 
of  these  reformers !  They  want  to  set  the  world  right 
according  to  their  own  ideas.  They  don't  pay  any  at 
tention  to  the  men  who  keep  them  from  starving.  I 
made  that  boy — what  he's  got  he  owes  to  me." 

"Indeed!  How  singular!  He  says  that  it's  just  the 
other  way  about;  that  what  you  have  you  took  from 
him !  He  says  you  want  to  take  more — more  than  your 
share — from  things  that  belong  to  everybody." 

"What's  that!  What's  that!  Well,  now,  of  all  the 
insane  idiocy  I  ever  heard!  Good  God,  what  next! 
Him,  Charles  Halsey,  the  man  I  brought  up  with  me ! 
Jennie,  I  never  heard  the  like  of  that  in  all  my  time." 

"But  if  that's  the  way  he  feels,  now's  not  the  time  to 
argue  that  with  him !" 


MEANS    TO   AN    END  309 

"But,  good  God,  the  effrontery — " 

"All  the  world  is  full  of  effrontery,  Mr.  Rawn,"  she 
said —  continuing  to  address  him  formally,  as  she 
always  did.  "It's  buy  and  sell.  Everything  we  get  we 
pay  for  in  one  way  or  another.  Even  if  we  took  power 
out  of  the  air  by  our  overhead  motors,  we'd  pay  for 
that,  one  way  or  another — nothing  conies  from  noth 
ing — we  pay,  we  pay  all  the  time,  Mr.  Rawn !" 

"You  don't  need  to  go  into  theories  and  generaliza 
tions,"  said  he  testily.  "We've  had  enough  of  that 
from  him.  We  are  both  practical.  You  simply  get  that 
man  and  bring  him  back  into  the  fold,  that's  all !  Do 
your  share." 


"My  share  ?  It's  easy,  isn't  it  ?"  She  smiled  at  him 
again  annoyingly. 

"But  you  can  do  it  ?" 

"Yes,  I  can  do  it.  But  I  can't  evade  the  truth  I  just 
told  you.  I'd  have  to  pay.  You'd  have  to  pay." 

"We're  beggars,  and  can't  choose,"  said  John  Rawn 
savagely.  "Besides,  there's  no  harm  done — I'm  not 
asking  you  to  do  anything  improper,  anything  to  com 
promise  yourself — but  get  him,  that's  all !  And  when 
we've  got  him  in  hand — when  I  know  what  I  want  to 
know — I'll  wring  him  dry  and  throw  him  on  the  scrap 
heap.  That's  what  I'll  do  with  him!" 

"Yes,  I  think  you  would,"  she  said. 

"It's  the  only  right  thing  to  do,"  Rawn  fumed.  "He'll 
get  what's  coming  to  him.  He's  been  throwing  down 
his  one  best  friend." 

"Are  there  any  best  friends  in  business,  Mr.  Rawn  ?" 
she  asked. 


310  JOHN    RAWN 

"Of  course  there  are.  Haven't  I  been  a  friend  to 
him ;  haven't  I  got  a  lot  of  friends  of  my  own  ?" 

"What  would  they  do  for  you  to-morrow,  Mr. 
Rawn?" 

"Well,  that's  a  different  matter;  they  might  take 
care  of  themselves — I  would  take  care  of  myself.  But 
this  fool  here  that  I'm  asking  you  to  handle  isn't  tak 
ing  care  of  himself  or  any  one  else.  He's  crazy,  that's 
all  about  him!  Did  he  hand  you  out  any  of  this  talk 
about  the  rights  of  man?  I  more  than  half  suspect 
him  of  sympathizing  with  these  labor  unions.  He's  a 
Socialist  at  heart,  that's  what  he  is !" 

She  nodded  her  head  a  little.  "Names  don't  make 
much  difference  in  such  matters." 


VI 

"Isn't  it  a  funny  thing,"  he  rejoined,  turning  to  her 
in  his  walk,  "that  the  very  men  who  have  failed,  the 
very  ones  who  most  need  help  themselves,  are  the  ones 
who  are  out  to  help  everybody  else !  The  blind  always 
want  to  lead  the  blind !  These  labor  unions  depend  on 
us  for  their  daily  bread  and  butter,  yet  they  want  to 
fight  us  all  the  time.  There's  no  trust  in  this  country 
so  big  as  the  labor  trust,  and  there's  no  ingratitude  in 
the  world  like  that  of  the  laboring  man's. 

"Why,  look  at  me,  Jennie — you  know  something  of 
my  plans.  This  very  month  I  was  going  to  put  fifty 
thousand  dollars  more  into  my  cooperative  farm  in 
the  South,  a  thing  I  have  been  working  out  for  the 
benefit  of  my  laboring  people.  I'm  going  to  do  more 
than  old  Carnegie  has  done !  You  and  I  ought  to  have 
set  up  some  kind  of  prizes,  medals — start  some  sort 


MEANS   TO  AN   END  311 

of  hero  competition.  Helping  colleges  is  old,  and  so 
are  libraries  old.  I  don't  place  myself  any  station 
back  of  Rockefeller  himself.  The  Rockefeller  Founda 
tion  was  a  great  idea.  Just  wait!  I'll  raise  him  out 
of  the  game!  When  I  get  all  my  plans  made,  they'll 
speak  of  John  Rawn  when  they  mention  philanthropy ! 

"And  just  to  think,  Jennie,"  he  went  on  excitedly, 
"that  all  such  big  plans  as  that,  plans  for  the  good  of 
humanity,  should  come  to  nothing !  To  be  held  up  and 
handicapped  by  the  folly  of  a  man  who  has  never  been 
able  to  do  anything  for  himself  or  any  one  else!  It 
makes  me  sick  to  think  of  it.  He  claims  to  be  a  friend 
of  the  laboring  people,  and  here  he's  tying  the  hands 
of  the  greatest  friend  of  the  laboring  men  in  this  town 
to-day — myself,  John-  Rawn,  standing  here!  Why,  if 
I'd  hand  this  country  the  John  Rawn  Foundation  for 
industrial  assistance,  all  thought  out,  all  financed,  all 
ready  to  go  to  work  to-morrow,  that  crazy  fool  there, 
with  his  Socialist  ideas,  would  block  it  all.  He's  going 
to  block  it  all. 

"Now,  it's  up  to  you.  You're  the  only  one  that  can 
keep  him  from  doing  that  very  thing.  Don't  you  see, 
it  isn't  just  you  and  me  he's  ruining.  It  isn't  himself 
he's  ruining.  He's  going  to  hurt  the  whole  country. 
Jennie,  there's  a  considerable  responsibility  on  you  to 
night.  Where  he  is  wrong  is  in  thinking  that  the  weak 
can  help  the  weak.  It's  the  other  way  about — it's  the 
strong  that  can  help — Power! — that's  what  counts! 
It's  for  you  to  show  him  that.  Jennie,  girl — it's  not  so 
much  myself.  But  think  of  your  country." 

"Yes,"  she  nodded,  "that's  precisely  it !" 

"But  he  didn't  affect  you  in  the  least,  Jennie — he 
didn't  get  you  going  with  that  kind  of  foolishness." 


312  JOHN   RAWN 

"I  never  heard  any  one  talk  just  as  he  did,  before," 
said  she  slowly.  "You  see,  I  hadn't  thought  of  these 
things  myself,  for  I'm  only  a  woman.  He  said  that 
all  this  power,  taken  from  the  hills  and  the  forests  and 
the  air  and  the  rivers,  belongs  to  everybody — to  all 
the  world—" 

"But  he  didn't  impress  you  with  that  nonsense, 
Jennie?" 

"He  said  things — I  told  him  that  I'd  never  thought 
of  life  just  that  way.  And  I  haven't,  Mr.  Rawn.  I 
told  him,  as  I  admit  to  you,  that  I  hadn't  thought  of 
anybody  much  but  myself — I  just  tried  to  climb.  I 
think  all  women  do." 

"It's  right  they  should,  it's  the  only  way.  Selfish 
ness  is  the  one  great  cause  of  the  world's  progress,  my 
dear." 

"Well,  I  told  him  that  his  way  of  thinking  was  so 
new  to  me,  that  I  needed  time  to  think  it  over." 

"But  you  didn't  believe  a  word  he  said — you  never 
would!" 

VII 

"Mr.  Rawn,"  said  she,  looking  him  full  in  the  face, 
"we've  both  of  us  climbed  pretty  fast.  I  always  put 
my  family  out  of  memory  all  I  could.  But  somehow 
I  seem  to  recollect  that  my  father  used  to  talk  of 
things  a  good  deal  as  Mr.  Halsey  does.  I  begin  to 
realize  what  I  told  you  a  while  ago — no  matter  how 
or  where  we  climb,  we  pay  for  what  we  get,  sometime, 
somewhere,  somehow ! 

"But  listen,"  she  leaned  toward  him  with  some  sud 
den  access  of  emotion.  "I  can  do  this  much !  I'll  agree 


MEANS    TO   AN    END  313 

to  bring  in  Charley  Halsey,  bound  hand  and  foot !  You 
can  throw  him  and  me,  too,  on  the  scrap  heap  when 
the  time  comes !  It's  a  game.  I'll  play  it.  I'll  take  my 
chance."  She  half  rose,  thrilling,  vibrant. 

"I  knew  you  would,  Jennie." 

"Yes,  but  you'll  have  to  pay." 

"Have  I  ever  said  I  wouldn't?  Didn't  I  just  get 
done  telling  him  I'd  make  him  rich  the  minute  he  said 
the  word  ?" 

"It  doesn't  seem  to  be  money  he  wants.  I — don't — • 
believe — that's  what  the  pay  would  have  to  be." 

"What  do  you  mean?  You're  getting  too  deep  for 
me  now.  I'm  only  a  plain  man,  my  girl !" 

She  smiled  at  him,  still  enigmatic,  still  cool  and 
calm,  still  almost  insolent,  as  she  often  was  with  him. 
"He's  been  talking  all  sorts  of  folly  about  getting 
things  in  tune — getting  gravitation  in  tune  with  labor 
— all  sorts  of  abstractions.  Well,  don't  you  see,  if 
I  got  in  tune  with  his  notions,  I  might  be  able  to  in 
fluence  him !" 

Rawn  grew  cold  and  hard.  "There's  one  thing  we 
can't  do,  Jennie,"  said  he.  "We  can't  side  in  with  any 
of  his  socialistic  talk.  What  he  wants  to  do  is  to  give 
to  the  people  of  this  country  for  nothing  what  this 
International  Power  Company  is  planning  to  sell  them 
for  ever.  What  we  want  is  monopoly !  I've  been  gam 
bling  everything  I've  got  on  the  certainty  of  that  mon 
opoly.  I'm  in  soak,  in  hock,  up  to  my  eyes  on  the 
market,  this  minute.  I'm  margined  to  the  full  extent 
of  my  credit.  The  biggest  men  of  America  are  back 
of  me.  I'll  be  rich  if  this  thing  goes  through — one  of 
the  richest  men  in  America.  But  I'd  almost  rather  lose 


314  JOHN   RAWN 

it  all  than  to  see  you  side  in  with  him,  or  listen  for 
five  minutes  to  his  rotten  talk  about  the  'rights  of 
man/  There  fire  no  rights  of  man  except  what  each 
man  can  take  for  himself!  As  for  him,  I'd  kill  him, 
or  get  him  killed,  if  I  knew  first  how  he  got  that  cur 
rent  through,  the  receivers.  Give  me  that,  and  I'll  let 
the  rights  of  man  wait  a  while.  I'll  show  them  a  thing 
or  two ! 

"But  of  course,"  he  added,  frowning  again  in  help 
less  perturbation,  "we've  got  to  get  him  in  hand. 
Grace  couldn't  do  it." 

"No ;  on  the  contrary.  I  can — if  I  pay !" 
"Then  pay!"  he  snarled  suddenly,  his  voice  harsh, 
half  choking.  "What's  the  price — nothing  worth  men 
tioning.  But  it's  got  to  be  paid,  no  matter  what  it  is. 
We're  caught,  and  we're  squeezed !  We've  got  to  pay, 
no  matter  what  it  is,  Jennie !" 

"Is  it  no  matter  to  you,  Mr.  Rawn  ?" 
"How  can  it  be  ?   I'm  almost  crazy  to-night !   Do  it, 
that's  all,  and  draw  on  me  to  the  limit !" 
"To  the  limit,  Mr.  Rawn?" 

"To  the  limit  I"  He  looked  her  straight  in  the  eye, 
and  she  met  his  gaze  fully.  She  shivered  slightly 
again,  but  her  delicately  clean-cut  face  showed  no  fur 
ther  sign.  Only  she  shivered,  and  pulled  her  wrap  a 
trifle  closer  about  her  shoulders. 

"Very  well,"  she  said.  "I  may  have  to  draw  on  you 
— and  myself,  too." 

"It's  all  in  the  game,  Jennie — we've  got  to  play  it 
together — we're  two  of  the  same  sort — we've  got  to 
climb,  to  succeed.  We  run  well  together.  One  must 
help  the  other's  hand." 

"Yes,  it's  a  game,"  she  answered;  and  so  rose,  and 
left  him  without  further  word. 


MEANS   TO   AN   END  315 

VIII 

John  Rawn  followed  her  up  the  stair,  mumbling 
some  sort  of  conjugal  affection,  but  she  left  him  at 
the  landing  and  passed  toward  her  own  apartments 
down  the  hall,  giving  him  hardly  even  a  look  of  fare 
well.  He  followed  her  with  his  eyes,  standing  a  little 
time,  his  hand  resting  on  the  lintel  of  his  own  door. 

Alone,  Rawn  seated  himself  in  the  Elizabethan  arm 
chair  devised  by  his  most  favored  decorator  as  fitting 
for  this  Elizabethan  room.  A  vast  oak  bed,  heavily 
carved,  with  deep  and  heavy  curtains,  represented  the 
decorator's  idea  of  what  the  Virgin  Queen  preferred. 
The  walls  were  deeply  carved  in  wainscot  and  cornice. 
A  rude  attempt  was  made  at  strength  and  simplicity 
in  this,  the  sanctum  of  the  master  of  Graystone  Hall. 
Granted  the  aid  of  a  lively  imagination,  this  might 
have  been  the  apartment  of  some  feudal  lord  of  an 
other  day ;  as  the  designer  and  architect  had  not  failed 
delicately  to  suggest  to  Mr.  Rawn. 

It  is  possible  that  in  the  time  of  Elizabeth  pier 
glasses  with  heavily  carved  frames  were  not  common 
in  the  size  affected  by  Mr.  Rawn  in  his  private  apart 
ment.  He  stood  before  the  great  glass  now  and  gazed 
at  what  he  saw;  a  face  haggard  and  lined,  shoulders 
stooping  a  little  forward,  body  a  little  stooped,  a  little 
heavy,  a  little  soft;  the  watch  charm  hanging  in  free 
air — the  figure  of  a  man  no  longer  athletic,  if  ever  so. 

Rawn  stood  engaged  in  his  regular  nightly  devo*- 
tions — he  made  no  prayers  of  eventide  beyond  that  to 
his  mirror.  But  now  something  he  saw  caused  him  to 
fling  himself  into  a  seat  at  a  smaller  glass,  where  the 
light  was  better.  He  gazed  into  this  also,  intently. 
Something  seemed  strange  about  his  eyes,  about  his 


3i6  JOHN    RAWN 

mouth.  He  turned  his  face  slightly  sidewise  and 
studied  the  deep  triangular  lines  at  the  corner  of  the 
chin.  He  saw  a  roll  of  fat  at  the  back  of  his  neck,  and 
observed  a  certain  throatiness,  a  voluminousness  of 
flesh  below  the  chin.  The  latter  stood  out  distinct, 
pushing  forward ; — the  rich  man's  chin,  the  old  man's 
chin.  He  lifted  a  finger  and  touched  the  arteries  on 
his  temples.  They  were  firmer  to  the  touch  than  once 
they  had  been.  He  looked  at  the  veins  on  his  hands, 
and  realized  that  they  stood  fuller  than  was  once  the 
case.  His  nose,  large,  just  a  trifle  bulbous,  seemed  to 
him  to  have  gained  somewhat  in  color  in  late  years. 
He  looked  at  his  eyes  in  eager  questioning.  Yes,  they 
belonged  to  him!  But  for  some  reason  they  lacked 
brilliance  and  fire.  They  were  colder,  less  impressive, 
less  responsive; — the  rich  man's  eyes,  the  old  man's 
eyes.  He  looked  at  his  hair,  now  almost  white  at  the 
temples.  He  hesitated  for  a  moment,  then  picked  up 
a  hand  glass  and  deliberately  turned  his  back  to  the 
mirror.  Yes,  it  was  there,  a  shiny  spot  of  naked 
epidermis.  He  knew  that,  but  always  he  shunned  the 
knowledge  and  the  proof.  For  many  years  his  thick 
mane  of  wiry  hair  had  been  his  pride. 

John  Rawn  turned  and  put  the  hand  mirror  on  the 
dresser  top  again.  He  looked  full  into  the  glass  at  his 
image  once  more.  His  pendulous  lower  lip  drooped, 
tremulously.  He  saw  his  eyes  winking.  He  saw  some 
thing  else.  Yes,  to  his  wonder,  to  his  gasping  horror, 
he  saw  something  strange  and  revolutionary!  A  tear 
was  standing  in  the  corner  of  his  eye!  It  dropped,  it 
trickled  down  his  cheek. 

Jown  Rawn  for  the  first  time  in  his  life  was  learn 
ing  what  the  one  game  is — and  learning  that  time  is 
the  one  winner  in  that  one  game !  He  was  old. 


CHAPTER  VI 


AN    INFORMAL    MEETING 


IT  must  surprise  those  simple  folk,  Messieurs  Wash 
ington,  Jefferson,  and  their  like,  were  they  to  re 
turn  to  life  at  this  advanced  day  and  gaze  upon  the 
admirable  republic  which  they  fancied  to  be  founded 
on  immutable  principles.  As  in  politics  to-day  those 
principles  would  seem  proved  to  have  been  not  quite 
immutable,  so,  in  commerce,  men  and  methods  would 
appear  wholly  different  from  those  known  in  that 
earlier  day.  For  instance,  in  commercial  matters,  the 
men  of  that  day  would  now  find  in  daily  application 
a  fourth  dimension  of  affairs  once  wholly  unknown ; 
the  sixth  sense  of  the  modern  business  man,  a  deli 
cately  differentiated  faculty  evolved  in  the  holy  of 
holies  where  events  cast  their  financial  shadows  far 
in  advance  of  themselves.  John  Jay,  or  any  financier 
of  Revolutionary  time,  very  likely  lacked  in  that  re 
gard,  and  had  but  his  five  senses. 

This  keen  sense  of  prophecy,  property  of  modern 
leaders  in  finance,  was  not  lacking  in  the  case  of  the 
directors  of  the  International  Power  Company,  all  and 
several;  and  more  especially  several.  Capitalists  hunt 
in  packs — but  only  up  to  a  certain  point.  The  sauve 

317 


3i8  JOHN   RAWN 

qui  pent  has  small  chivalry  about  it  even  in  the  holy 
of  holies. 

Within  a  few  days  after  the  turbulent  scenes  which' 
took  place  in  the  quiet  surroundings  of  Gray  stone 
Hall,  there  was  held,  quite  informally,  indeed  on  a 
wholly  impromptu  basis,  a  meeting  of  the  greater  por 
tion  of  the  directors  of  the  International  Power  Com 
pany.  It  was  a  meeting  not  called  by  the  president, 
and  the  president  knew  nothing  of  it.  It  was  not  set 
for  the  usual  headquarters  in  the  East;  on  the  con 
trary,  by  merest  chance,  these  keen-witted  men  met 
by  accident  in  the  western  city  where  were  located  the 
Works  and  central  operating  offices  of  the  International 
Power  Company.  They  made  their  stopping  place,  as 
usual,  at  the  National  Union  Club,  where  they  were 
less  certain  to  become  the  prey  of  prying  reporters — 
a  breed  detested  above  all  things  by  these  and  their 
like. 

ii 

V 

/There  was,  this  afternoon,  casually  present,  a  cer 
tain  gray-haired,  full-bodied  man,  of  full  beard  and 
rather  portly  body.  He  was  speaking  with1  President 
Standley,  of  St.  Louis,  who  also  by  merest  chance 
happened  to  be  in  town.  To  them  presently  came  the 
former  general  traffic  manager  of  Mr.  Standley 's  road, 
Ackerman,  also  present  by  merest  accident.  Two  or 
three  others,  moreover,  by  mere  accident,  joined  them, 
figures  which  were  familiar  at  the  long  table  in  the 
New  York  headquarters.  They  looked  at  one  another 
frankly,  and  laughed  without  much  reservation. 

"Well,"  said  Ackerman,  after  a  time,  "let's  sit  down 
and  have  a  little  powwow — informally,  you  know." 


AN   INFORMAL   MEETING  319 

The  gray-haired  man  grinned  pleasantly  again  and 
said  nothing,  but  drew  up  a  chair. 

"Of  course,  you  know,"  said  Standley,  as  he  seated 
himself,  "that  our  dissatisfied  friend,  Van,  is  here  in 
town  to-day  ?" 

The  full-bearded  man  nodded,  and  an  instant  later 
jerked  his  head  toward  the  door.  "He's  here  in  the 
club,  too/'  said  .he,  and  smiled.  "Just  happened  in,  I 
suppose."  Indeed,  as  they  turned  to  look  they  saw 
advancing,  talking  animatedly,  a  rather  slender,  young 
ish  man  of  brown  eyes  and  pointed  beard ;  none  less 
than  the  disgruntled  director  who  had  long  ago  been 
so  summarily  handled  by  John  Rawn,  president  of  the 
International  Power  Company. 

"Hasn't  he  got  the  nose  for  news,  though?"  com 
mented  Standley  admiringly.  "Now,  who  told  him 
there  was  anything  doing!" 

"He  didn't  need  to  have  anybody  tell  him,"  growled 
Ackerman.  "He  can  take  care  of  himself.  And  by 
Jove !  I'm  half  inclined  to  think  that  he  was  the  lucky 
one — to  get  out  the  way  he  did,  and  when  he  did." 

"Yes,  he's  lucky,"  said  Standley  gravely.  He  turned 
to  see  the  vast  round  belly  of  the  gray-bearded  man 
heaving  in  silent  mirth.  The  railway  magnate  obvi 
ously  was  amused. 

"I  don't  know!"  remarked  Ackerman  suddenly. 
"Other*,  AT* 

in 

"Well,  boys,  why  not  admit  it?"  rejoined  the  older 
man.  "We  all  know  the  facts.  We  all  know  why  we're 
here.  As  you  said,  Ack,  let's  hold  a  little  informal 
meeting,  and  talk  over  what  we  had  better  do !" 


320  JOHN   RAWN 

"How  much  did  you  sell!"  demanded  Standley 
casually. 

"Twenty  thousand  last  week.  You  sold  about  dou 
ble  that." 

"Yes,  it's  leaking  out,  no  use  denying  that!  You 
don't  need  to  list  this  thing — it  leaks !" 

"Of  course,  Van's  buying  it,"  said  Standley,  nod 
ding  toward  the  slender  figure  of  the  ex-director. 
"First  time  I  ever  knew  him  to  go  out  for  revenge. 
It  doesn't  very  often  pay." 

"Well,  I  can't  figure  it  out,"  ventured  Ackerman. 
"The  stock  won't  do  him  any  more  good  than  it  does 
us.  He  can't  get  the  control  over  that  old  bonehead 
Rawn — I  mean  our  respected  president — anyhow,  any 
more  than  we  can.  He's  sitting  tight,  with  the  papers 
in  his  box.  I  admit  that  I  let  go  a  little,  because  I  fig 
ured  it  was  time  we  were  doing  something  better  than 
six  per  cent,  with  that  stock,  and  all  Rawn  has  done 
is  to  make  one  explanation  on  top  of  another.  He  can't 
keep  on  putting  that  across  with  me,  anyhow.  But 
he  can  sit  there,  as  I  say,  with  the  control  in  his  hands, 
looking  at  those  nice  pictures  of  the  Lady  of  the  Light 
nings,  which  he  had  engraved  as  our  trademark." 

"He's  awfully  gone  on  her,"  spoke  up  one.  "Not 
that  I  blame  him,  either.  I  hate  to  sell  my  stock,  be 
cause  I  like  the  looks  of  our  engraved  goddess  so 
much !" 

"There's  most  always  a  lady  standing  around  some 
where,  with  the  lightning  in  her  hands,"  ventured  the 
gray-bearded  man  solemnly.  They  looked  at  one  an 
other  again  suggestively,  but  no  one  spoke  n*o*v?  defi 
nite  words  than  that. 


AN    INFORMAL   MEETING  321 


IV 

"Well,  we've  had  high-sounding  talk  put  up  to  us 
about  long  enough,"  commented  Ackerman,  at  length. 
"I  was  one  of  the  first  to  go  in  for  this,  and  I  believe 
in  it  yet,  but  I  don't  want  this  thing  with  Rawn  in  con 
trol.  Why,  look  at  him, — he  was  just  a  clerk  when  he 
came  to  us,  and  here  he's  putting  on  more  side  than 
any  other  man  in  the  town.  He's  taken  advantage  of 
his  situation  to  play  the  market  in  and  out,  all  the 
time,  which  he  couldn't  have  done  if  it  hadn't  been  for 
friends  like  us.  He  squeezed  us  into  backing  him — 
after  we  gave  him  that  first  little  flyer  in  Rubber,  and 
some  Oil — that  hadn't  cost  us  anything  and  didn't  look 
worth  anything.  In  return  he's  handed  us  promises 
and  explanations  and  hot  air,  and  nothing  else.  I've 
just  got  an  idea  that  there's  a  man-sized  nigger  some 
where  around  this  woodpile.  For  me,  I  prefer  being 
hung  as  a  little  lamb  rather  than  as  a  full-sized  goat. 
Yes,  I  let  go  a  little  International — to  Van — I'll  ad 
mit.  Time  enough  to  get  back  into  the  game  when 
we've  put  Rawn  out !" 

Standley  nodded  slowly.  "That's  a  good  deal  the 
way  I  felt  about  it,"  he  said.  "It  riles  me  to  see  the 
airs  that  fellow  puts  on.  I  remember  him  when  he 
didn't  have  two  suits  of  hand-me-down  clothes  to  his 
name,  and  now  he  seems  to  have  a  hundred,  all  done 
by  the  best  tailors  in  New  York.  He  used  to  tie  his 
drawers  with  white  tape  strings,  and  now  he  wears 
specially  shaped  silks.  Where'd  he  get  it?  You  talk 
about  the  Keeley  motor — this  thing  has  got  it  beat  a 
mile  for  mystery.  And  we  fellows  have  been  stand- 


322  JOHN   RAWN 

ing  for  that!  That  is,  unless  we  can  stand  from  un 
der,  somehow." 

"Yes,  seemingly,"  ventured  the  last  speaker.  "But 
how  is  that  somehow?  There  isn't  any  market  for  In 
ternational." 

The  gray-bearded  man  laughed  jubilantly  at  this. 
"Have  you  found  that  out  ?" 

"Yes,  I  certainly  have  found  it  out.  Of  course,  the 
market  has  been  Van  yonder.  But  he  won't  take  on 
over  a  certain  amount.  He  wants  to  break  the  control, 
of  course.  But  he's  going  to  wait  until  he  gets  up  to 
the  point  and  then  do  something  quick.  He's  not  go 
ing  to  hold  our  bag  for  us — oh,  no !  Not  him !" 

"Well,  I've  a  suspicion,"  said  the  older  man  finally, 
"that  that  secret  we've  been  after  has  been  in  the  hands 
of  our  superintendent  for  a  long  time." 

"Why  didn't  Rawn  tell  us,  then?"  demanded  one  of 
his  companions.  "Has  he  sold  us  out?" 

"No,  Rawn  hasn't  sold  us  out.  At  least  I  don't  think 
so." 

"Who  has,  then?" 

"I  don't  know.  The  young  man  who  made  the 
wheels  go  for  us  whenever  Rawn  wanted  him  to — he'* 
the  real  key  to  this  situation,  if  I'm  a  good  guesser. 
There's  your  contraband,  and  you  can  locate  him 
somewhere  in  this  particular  woodpile,  or  I'm  n<? 
judge." 

"Rawn's  pretty  well  spread  out  in  the  general  mar 
ket,"  quite  irrelevantly  suggested  Standley. 

"I  should  say  he  was !"  growled  Ackerman.  "He's 
been  in  on  all  the  good  things  in  the  last  two  or  three 
years.  He  must  have  made  millions — I  don't  know 
how  much." 


AN   INFORMAL  MEETING  323 

"In  tEe  'general  market — not  International,  of 
course.  He's  got  all  his  holdings  in  that.  He  has  been 
spending  money,  though !"  Standley  wagged  his  head. 

"For  instance,  on  the  Lady  of  the  Lightnings?" 
suggested  Ackerman,  grinning  amiably. 

"Yes,  on  his  young  wife,  and  his  new  house,  and  his 
boats,  and  his  automobiles,  and  all  the  regular  things. 
He  can't  have  done  it  out  of  International  dividends, 
that's  sure!" 

"All  the  better  that  He  hasn't,"  ventured  Standley, 
The  old  man  nodded. 

"Go  over  there  and  call  Van,"  he  said  simply. 


The  slender  man  with  pointed  beard  came  up  pleas 
antly,  his  eyes  twinkling.  "Well,  my  fellow  sports  and 
department  heads!"  he  said.  "What's  the  good  word 
this  morning?" 

"Sit  down,"  said  the  gray-bearded  man,  "We  know 
why  you're  here,  and  why  you've  been  hanging  around 
here  for  the  last  six  months.  It's  foolish  of  you,  son, 
to  be  out  for  revenge — nothing  in  that !" 

"I'm  not  after  revenge,"  smiled  the  other,  his  eyes 
still  twinkling.  "I've  made  my  peace !" 

"Yes,"  commented  Ackerman.  "The  friendship  of 
some  of  you  gladiators  is  surely  a  wonderful  thing! 
Rawn  hates  you,  and  you  hate  Rawn.  Don't  your  ears 
burn?" 

"No,  my  heart !"  He  laid  a  hand  on  that  organ  with 
mock  gravity. 

"What  could  you  'do  with  the  Lady  of  the  Light 
nings,  Van?"  asked  Standley  discreetly. 


324  JOHN   RAWN 

"Nothing,  absolutely  nothing." 

"Hasn't  she  any  social  instincts?" 

"Plenty,  but  all  gratified ;  that's  the  trouble.  There 
isn't  anything  those  people  want  that  they  haven't  got. 
No,  I  must  say  his  position  is  pretty  strong." 

"But  it's  not  impregnable,  Standley,"  cut  in  the 
gray-bearded  man,  stopping  the  twiddling  of  his  fin 
gers  above  his  round-paunched  body.  "Now,  look  here, 
we're  all  friends  together,  when  it  comes  to  that.  You 
belong  with  us  a  lot  more  than  you  do  with  that  Jas 
per  from  the  country.  Of  course,  you  split  with  us, 
got  mad,  took  your  dolls  and  all  that  sort  of  thing — - 
we're  all  used  to  that — and  we  all  sat  tight  because  it 
looked  good.  It  looked  better  than  it  does  now.  So, 
we're  friends  again." 

"Of  course,"  nodded  the  slight  man.  "I  understand 
that." 

"Sure  you  do !  Now,  it's  plain  that  when  it  comes  to 
being  on  the  inside,  you're  there  as  an  ex-director 
just  as  much  as  we  are  as  real  directors — maybe  more 
so,  for  all  I  know." 

"Maybe  more,  yes,  that's  so,"  smiled  the  slender 
man,  his  brown  eyes  twinkling  yet  more. 

"How  much  more,  then?" 

"Why,  a  whole  lot  more !" 
j     "What  do  you  know?" 

"I  know  what  I've  learned  for  myself  and  by  my 
self.  Gentlemen,  it's  on  the  table !  Play  the  game !  I 
did.  I've  had  some  of  those  college  professors  at  work 
for  me — they're  the  people  that  first  got  us  locoed, 
anyhow.  Rawn,  or  rather  his  son-in-law,  got  his  first 
notion  from  his  own  professor  in  his  college." 


AN    INFORMAL    MEETING  325 


VI 

"The  real  trouble  with  business  to-day,"  interrupted 
the  gray-bearded  man,  reverting  to  his  universal  and 
invariable  grievance,  ais  that  things  are  all  going 
wrong  with  the  American  people.  These  Progressives 
down  there  at  Washington  have  set  this  whole  coun 
try  by  the  ears — not  even  the  Supreme  Court  can 
square  things  any  more.  The  suspiciousness  of  the 
average  man  is  getting  to  be  almost  criminal,  that's 
what  it  is.  The  public  thinks  every  man  with  money  is 
a  rascal.  The  public  is  damnably  ungrateful.  Look 
what  we  have  done  for  this  country,  this  little  set  of 
men  sitting  right  here — what  we've  built  for  them, 
what  we've  paid  out  to  them  for  wages !  What  are  we 
getting  in  return?  They  envy  us  our  daily  bread,  and 
by  the  Eternal!  they'll  come  near  putting  us  where 
we  can't  get  that  much  longer!  Look  at  the  railway 
rate  cases — it's  robbery  of  the  railways.  Capital  hasn't 
any  chance  any  more !  The  public  seems  to  be  getting 
ready  for  anarchy;  that's  all." 

"Isn't  it  the  truth  ?"  remarked  the  slender  man  sym 
pathetically.  "Still,  we  have  to  handle  men  as  we  find 
them,  my  friends.  In  my  own  case,  I've  been  fighting 
the  devil  with  a  little  of  his  own  fire." 

"How's  that?" 

"Well,  for  instance,  I  went  out  to  see  if  I  couldn't 
land  that  little  secret  of  the  receiving  motor  myself, 
as  I  just  told  you.  If  International  doesn't  want  to 
take  me  in,  or  if  I  can't  break  in,  maybe  there  can  be 
another  company  formed — -there's  considerable  corpo 
ration  room  left  in  New  Jersey.  You  folks  on  the  In- 


326  JOHN   RAWN 

ternational  have  been  having  your  own  troubles  with 
labor,  haven't  you  ?" 

"Well,  rather!"  growled  Ackerman.  "We  put  that 
up  to  old  Colonel  J.  R.  Bonehead,  our  president !  He 
seems  to  have  got  in  about  as  nearly  wrong  as  any  dne 
could  with  our  esteemed  friends  of  the  labor  unions !" 

"Naturally ;  well,  I'll  make  a  confession,  since  we're 
all  friends  together — I've  had  men  conferring  with 
your  horny-handed  citizens  and  suggesting  that  the 
International  Power  Company  was  'unfair/  and  a  bad 
outfit  to  work  for !" 

"That  was  nice  of  you!"  growled  Ackerman,  get 
ting  red  in  the  face.  "Fine  business,  for  you  to  come 
snooping  around  our  works." 

The  slender  man  smiled  at  him  pleasantly.  "How 
else  could  I  get  information  ?"  he  inquired.  "You  must 
remember  that  I'm  no  longer  on  the  board !  But  you 
must  remember,  also,  that  of  late  I  have  picked  up  an 
occasional  dollar's  worth  of  International.  I  wanted 
to  know  how  about  certain  things !" 

"Well,  how  about  them,  then?"  demanded  Standley 
fiercely.  "Where  do  we  stand  ?" 

"You  want  me  to  incriminate  myself !" 

"Oh,  fiddlesticks  about  incrimination !  Cut  out  that 
part  of  it !" 

"All  right,  I  will,"  said  the  other  grimly.  "Well, 
then,  I've  tried  my  best  to  bribe  your  people,  and  I've 
got  little  out  of  it.  I've  tried  the  foreman,  the  night 
watchman,  and  everybody  else.  I've  had  a  dozen  of 
your  workmen  slugged  for  scabbing,  and  four  or  five 
of  them  shot,  one  or  two  at  least,  for  a  good,  perma 
nent  funeral.  And  I  paid  the  funeral  expenses!  You 
didn't  know  that?  Well,  that's  the  truth  of  it!" 


AN   INFORMAL   MEETING  327 

"Well,  what  do  you  know,  about  that!"  gasped 
Standley,  aghast. 

"I  know  a  good  deal  about  it,  my  Christian  friend," 
said  the  slender  man  relentlessly.  "I  can  tell  you  what 
you  already  know,  that  your  motors  are  dismantled 
to-day.  I  can  tell  you  also  that  there's  a  very  good 
chance  that  the  secret  we've  been  after  is  in  the  hands 
of  one  man,  and  he's  holding  it  up  for  some  reason 
best  known  to  himself.  We've  got  nothing  on  him! 
I  can  also  tell  you  that  if  he  won't  give  up — though 
why  he  won't,  I  can't  imagine — it's  possible  we  can 
work  out  a  receiver  of  our  own  elsewhere,  without 
him." 

VII 

"Well,  what  does  he  want?"  This  from  the  old 
man. 

"That's  the  everlasting  mystery  and  puzzle  of  it. 
He  doesn't  want  anything,  so  far  as  I  can  learn. 
There's  some  factor  in  him  that  I  can't  get  my  hands 
on,  try  the  best  that  I  can.  Not  that  I  don't  expect  to 
break  you  wide  open  eventually,  my  friends." 

"Now  why  do  you  want  to  do  that  ?"  asked  the  older 
financier.  "Why  not  join  in  with  us  and  break  the 
bonehead  ?" 

"Fine!  But  how  can  we  do  that?  He's  sitting 
pretty  tight.  The  man's  played  in  fine  luck.  I  admit 
I  rather  admire  him." 

"Bah,  that's  the  way  with  all  the  new  ones ;  they  all 
play  in  luck  for  a  time.  Each  Napoleon  has  his  boom, 
but  after  a  time  boom  values  shrink — they  always  do. 
This  chap'll  find  his  level  when  we  get  ready  to  tell 
him." 


328  JOHN    RAWN 

"For  instance?" 

"Well,  for  instance,  then!  He's  sitting  there  with 
a  small  margin  of  control  in  the  International.  That 
gave  him  his  start,  and  he's  wise  enough  to  hang  on 
to  that.  But  it  didn't  give  him  his  money — he's  only 
made  dividend  money  out  of  that;  and  who  cares  for 
dividend  money?  He  doesn't  own  control  in  the 
Guatemala  Oil  Company,  does  he?  He's  made  a  lot 
out  of  Arizona  and  Utah  coppers,  but  he  doesn't  own 
control  in  a  single  company  there,  does  he?  He's  in 
with  the  L.  P.,  but  he  borrowed  to  get  in.  He's  made 
a  big  killing  in  Rubber,  but  he  doesn't  own  any  Rubber 
control  of  his  own,  does  he?  Now,  you  follow  him 
out  in  every  deal  he's  made — iron,  copperv  steel,  oil, 
rails,  timber,  irrigation,  utilities,  industrials — and 
you'll  find  he's  simply  been  banking  on  his  inside  in 
formation  and  his  outside  credit.  Who  gave  him  both 
of  those  things  ? — Why,  we  did,  didn't  we  ?  All  right ! 
Suppose  we  withdraw  our  credit.  What  happens?" 


VIII 

They  went  silent  now,  and  grouped  a  little  closer 
about  the  tabouret  which  stood  between  them.  The 
old  man's  voice  went  on  evenly,  with  no  excitement. 
Their  conversation  attracted  the  attention  of  none  in 
the  wide  lounging  room,  where  large  affairs  more  than 
once  had  been  discussed — even  the  making  of  Senators 
to  order. 

"I'll  tell  you  what  happens,"  the  old  man  resumed. 
"He  quits  using  us  for  a  stalking  horse,  and  he  comes 
down  to  his  own  system.  He's  spread  out.  Banks  are 
all  polite,  but — well,  he  has  to  put  up  collateral;  and 


AN    INFORMAL   MEETING  329 

then  some  more.  If  he  doesn't  want  to  put  up  Inter 
national,  he's  apt  to  find  that  a  bunch  of  automobiles  is 
poor  property  when  sold  at  twenty  per  cent,  their  cost. 
He  turns  off  two  or  three  butlers,  but  still  that  doesn't 
serve  for  margins.  The  market  doesn't  suit  his  book 
any  more. 

"He's  discovering  now  the  great  truth  of  something 
tmy  old  friend  Emory  Storrs  used  to  say — Emory  al 
ways  was  in  debt,  or  wanted  to  be,  and  says  he: 
'There's  no  trouble  about  prosperity  in  this  country; 
there's  plenty  of  money — the  only  trouble  is  in  the 
confounded  scarcity  in  collateral.'  Well,  he  goes  over 
to  this  young  man,  who  is  standing  out  for  some  rea 
son  best  known  to  himself,  and  he  tries  to  get  him  to 
come  through,  and  he  doesn't  come  through.  What's 
left?  Why,  the  diamond  lightnings  of  the  Lady  of  the 
Lightnings — and  his  International  Power  stock. 

"Meantime,  all  this  thing  can't  be  kept  entirely  se 
cret;  that  is  to  say,  the  market  part  of  it  can't  be. 
But  we  sit  tight,  all  of  us.  We  hold  our  regular  di 
rectors'  meetings  of  the  International  board,  and  we 
smile,  and  look  pleasant.  We  don't  know  a  thing 
about  his  hot  water  experiences  in  the  open  market. 
He  explains  to  us  why  this  and  that  happens,  or  doesn't 
happen,  in  International ;  and  we  smile  and  look  pleas 
ant,  and  we  don't  know  a  thing.  After  a  time  it's  up 
to  him  and  the  Lady  of  the  Lightnings.  Something 
pops !  He's  up  against  it,  all  except  his  International 
Power.  Then  Van,  and  you,  Standley,  and  you,  Ack, 
and  you,  and  you  and  I,  and  all  of  us — why  we're  still 
pleasant  as  pie  to  him  and  we  say,  'Well,  Mr.  John 
Rawn,  if  you'd  only  sell  us  two  or  three  shares  of  In 
ternational,  we'd  pay  yom  twenty  times  what  it's  worth 


330  JOHN   RAWN 

— but  it's  very  much  cheaper  now — by  reason  of  Van's 
competing  company !' 

"That's  about  all,  I  think!" 

The  others  nodded  silently.  The  game  was  not  new 
to  them,  and  even  in  its  most  complicated  features 
might  have  been  called  simple,  with  resources  such  as 
theirs.  If  these  resources  had  made  Rawn,  they  could 
unmake  him.  It  was  all  in  the  day's  work  for  them. 

"So  I'll  tell  you  what  we'll  do,"  concluded  the  old 
financier  after  a  time.  "We'll  just  let  you  and  Van 
look  around  here  a  little  bit  and  see  what  more  you 
can  learn.  You're  one  of  the  real  directors  of  Inter 
national  Power  to-day,  Van.  Mir.  Rawn  is  on  the  mi 
nority  and  the  toboggan  list,  or  is  going  to  be  there. 
We'll  take  the  first  steps  when  we  see  the  boys  down 
East.  The  country's  getting  right  now  for  a  little 
speculation — things  have  been  dead  long  enough. 
There'll  be  a  market.  When  the  market  starts,  I  think 
you  know  which  way  it  will  go  for  a  certain  person  I 
needn't  name." 

IX 

They  rose,  stood  about  loungingly  for  a  time,  ancl 
at  length  slowly  separated,  the  older  man  and  the  ex- 
director  with  the  pointed  beard  falling  back  of  the 
others  for  just  an  instant. 

"What's  the  truth  about  the  row,  Van?"  demanded 
the  old  man,  laying  a  large,  pudgy  hand  on  the  other's 
shoulder. 

"I  don't  know,  honestly,  what  it  is.  I  can  tell  you 
this  much — your  factory  is  closed.  Your  superintend 
ent,  Halsey,  has  quit  his  work  and  left  his  old  resi 
dence.  Didn't  Rawn  tell  you  that?" 


AN   INFORMAL   MEETING  331 

"No !  What's  up  now — some  trouble  with  a  wom 
an?  Wasn't  he  married  to  Rawn's  daughter?" 

"Yes,  and  she  went  to  live  with  Papa.  Papa  had 
the  coin." 

"And  the  superintendent  is  going  the  chorus  girl 
route  here  or  in  New  York?" 

"No,  sir,  not  in  the  least, — nothing  of  the  sort.  You 
can't  guess  where  he's  gone." 

The  other  shook  his  head. 

"Well,  I'll  tell  you  then,  since  you  are  one  of  the 
directors  of  the  International  and  I'm  not !  He's  gone 
and  taken  his  other  pair  of  pants  and  his  celluloid 
collar,  and  moved  over  to  the  North  Shore !  He's  liv 
ing  in  the  same  house  with  Papa  J.  Rawn  right  now ; 
— that  is  to  say,  he  has  been  for  two  or  three  weeks." 

"Well,  what  do  you  know  about  that,  too!"  com 
mented  his  friend. 

"I  don't  know  much  about  it.  As  I  told  you,  there's 
something  in  here  I  don't  understand.  I  can't  for  the 
life  of  me  figure  out  that  chap  Halsey's  motives  or 
his  moves.  But  I  don't  care  about  him.  It's  Rawn  I'm 
after — and  I'm  going  to  get  him !" 


CHAPTER  VII 

THEY   WHO  SOW   THE   WIND 


THE  information  given  by  the  ex-director  in  re 
gard  to  the  whereabouts  of  Charles  Halsey  was 
substantially,  if  not  circumstantially,  correct.  He  had, 
indeed,  done  the  most  unlikely  thing.  He  had  taken  up 
his  abode,  for  the  time  at  least,  at  the  very  place  to 
which  he  might  have  seemed  least  apt  to  return ;  that 
is  to  say,  the  home  of  his  father-in-law,  John  Rawn. 

Many  things  moved  Halsey  to  this  action.  In  the 
first  place,  having  ended  his  labors,  he  found  no  rea 
son  for  any  pretense  of  continuing  them.  Again,  al 
though  he  fully  intended  to  bring  divorce  proceedings, 
and  fully  intended  to  leave  the  city,  he  was  unwilling 
to  depart  without  seeing  once  more  his  wife  and  their 
child,  because  news  came  to  him  of  the  little  cripple's 
serious  and  continued  illness.  In  point  of  fact,  Grace 
Halsey,  unhappy,  morose,  and  now  jealously  suspi 
cious,  had  brooded  over  her  unfortunate  situation  in 
life  until  she  also  really  was  ill.  Halsey  grieved  over 
this,  in  spite  of  all.  As  to  the  little  hunchback,  Laura, 
she  had  known  only  illness  all  her  life;  and  Halsey, 
father  after  all,  felt  some  foreboding  which  made  him 
unready  to  leave  for  yet  a  time. 

332 


THEY   WHO   SOW   THE   WIND        333 

Halsey,  in  spite  of  his  own  bitterness  of  soul,  real 
ized  that  Rawn  himself  was  well-nigh  crazed  by  the 
business  situation,  and  his  conscience  misgave  him 
when  he  reflected  upon  the  sudden  consequences  of 
his  own  acts.  His  sense  of  business  honor  and  of  per 
sonal  justice  told  him  he  owed  even  so  unreasonable  a 
man  as  Rawn  some  sort  of  definite  accounting  for  his 
own  stewardship,  unwelcome  as  another  meeting  be 
tween  them  must  be  to  both. 

Lastly,  it  may  be  added,  Virginia  Rawn  had  sent  for 
him. 

When  he  received  her  message  he  spent  a  night  re 
solving  that  he  would  not  go,  that  he  would  never 
again  see  either  her  or  Grace ;  never  again  would  set 
foot  on  ground  belonging  to  John  Rawn,  come  what 
could,  let  be  lost  what  any  of  them  all  might  lose.  In 
the  morning  he  changed  his  resolution.  By  evening  of 
the  next  day  he  was  at  Graystone  Hall. 

To  his  surprise,  he  found  it  not  immediately  neces 
sary  to  patch  a  peace  with  the  master  of  Graystone 
Hall,  for  Rawn  was  absent.  The  great  mansion  seemed 
strangely  and  suddenly  changed.  An  air  of  anxiety 
hung  over  all,  the  place  was  oddly  silent.  The  serv 
ants  went  slipshod  about  their  duties,  and  their  mis 
tress  did  not  chide  them.  Swift  disintegration  of  the 
domestic  machine  seemed  to  threaten ;  mysterious  dan 
ger  seemed  to  menace  the  very  structure  itself,  long 
of  so  bold  and  indomitable  front.  Halsey  still  hesi 
tated — and  still  remained. 

n 

Rawn  customarily  divided  his  time  between  the 
operating  headquarters  in  the  western  city  and  the 


334  JOHN   RAWN 

general  offices  in  the  eastern  capital,  but  now  he  had 
found  it  needful  immediately  to  transfer  all  his  activi 
ties  to  the  latter  scene.  He  did  not  know  of  his  wife's 
invitation  to  Halsey,  for  he  had  started  from  his  office, 
without  even  advising  her  of  his  intention,  and  even 
without  conversation  with  her  by  telephone.  He  tele 
graphed  from  the  train,  stating  that  he  had  been 
called  East  on  urgent  matters.  After  that,  no  word  at 
all  came  from  him.  It  was  not  known  when  he  would 
return.  Halsey  could  only  wait.  In  truth,  he  was  lit 
tle  better  than  a  man  gone  mad  himself,  and  Rawn 
was  worse  than  such. 

Gradually,  day  by  day,  hour  by  hour,  the  terrible 
strain  of  this  suddenly  developed  situation  began  to 
show  its  effects  upon  Rawn.  He  slept  but  little  after 
his  arrival  in  the  East,  showed  himself  more  and  more 
untidy  in  personal  habits;  and  lastly,  began  to  seek 
the  false  strength  of  intoxicating  drink.  His  demeanor 
in  his  relations  with  his  urbane  associates  daily  lost 
its  usual  arrogance.  John  Rawn,  late  dictator,  became 
explanatory,  conciliatory — a  change  of  mind  which  had 
visible  physical  tokens.  His  eye  became  weaker  and 
more  watery,  his  shoulders  more  drooped,  his  voice 
more  quavering,  his  address  less  abrupt  and  domi 
neering. 

John  Rawn  was  a  broken  man,  and  began  to  show 
it.  Wherefore  his  late  friends  exulted.  The  wolves, 
ranged  in  circle,  lick  their  chops  when  the  wounded 
bull  totters  upon  his  uncertain  legs.  Certain  large 
financial  figures  in  the  eastern  city  licked  their  chops, 
and  smiled  grimly,  wolfishly,  in  contemplation  of  John 
Rawn  as  he  tottered. 


THEY   WHO    SOW    THE   WIND         335 

in 

Yet  Rawn  himself  could  get  no  direct  proof  of  the 
identity  of  those  now  secretly  assailing  him.  At  the 
directors'  meetings  of  the  International  he  was  re 
ceived  politely  and  respectfully — with  too  much  po 
liteness  and  respect,  as  he  felt,  although  himself  unlike 
the  man  once  wont  to  rule  there  with  an  iron  hand. 
He  did  not  dare  tell  them  of  Halsey's  defection,  could 
not  doubt  that  they  already  knew  of  it ;  but  he  met  no 
queries  regarding  that  or  anything  else  in  the  conduct 
of  the  western  factory's  business.  No  one  seemed  to 
know  that  the  most  important  of  all  their  factories 
was  closed,  after  a  tedious  term  spent  in  incomple- 
tion.  His  associates  all  were  as  polite  as  himself,  in 
deed,  more  so;  as  ready  as  himself  to  discuss  gravely 
and  earnestly  any  detail  of  the  business  which  now,  as 
all  politely  agreed,  seemed  "somewhat  involved,"  or 
"somewhat  delayed."  No  one  offered  any  criticism  of 
the  executive. 

But,  what  was  far  more  deadly  to  him,  the  market 
seemed  most  onerously  and  cruelly  oppressive  upon 
the  outside  investments  of  John  Rawn.  International 
Power  was  not  hammered,  for  the  reason  that  there 
was  little  of  it  out  to  hammer.  The  Rawn  stock  in  In 
ternational,  of  course,  did  not  come  upon  the  market. 
Rawn  intended  to  hold  on  to  that  grimly,  fighting  for 
it  to  the  last  gasp,  trusting  to  chance  to  mend  matters 
for  him  at  the  eleventh  hour.  But  ruin  in  the  general 
market  faced  him ;  and  he  knew  that,  with  credit  gone, 
the  courts  would  take  for  his  former  creditors  what 
ever  property  he  could  be  shown  to  have.  He  saw  the 


336  JOHN    RAWN 

shadowy  circle  of  the  wolves  of  high  finance.    Almost 
he  felt  their  fangs  snapping  at  his  hamstrings. 


IV 

I 

In  these  savage  hours  the  mind  of  John  Rawn  cast 
about  for  rescue,  for  hope.  No  rescue,  no  hope,  ap 
peared  except  one  last  desperate  alternative,  purchas 
able  not  now  with  cash  or  power  or  influence — since 
these  were  gone — but  with  what  other  and  dearer 
things  remain  to  a  man — things  some  men,  not  rotted 
with  the  love  of  self,  keep  through  any  or  all  disaster, 
prize,  even  above  life  and  all  a  life's  business  success. 
Halsey!  Ah!  Halsey  was  the  savior  of  Rawn — Hal- 
sey,  the  man  who  had  humiliated  him  in  his  own  home. 
How  could  Halsey  be  secured?  There  might  be 
brought  to  bear  upon  him  one  influence — that  of  a 
beautiful  and  fascinating  woman !  What  matter  if  the 
one  woman  was  his  wife,  Virginia  Rawn?  He  had 
already  hinted  to  her  of  her  duty.  He  wondered 
now  continually  whether  she  had  really  and  fully 
understood.  He  wondered  what  she  was  doing  with 
Halsey. 

As  to  Halsey,  who  knew  little  or  nothing  of  all  these 
turbulent  emotions,  all  these  crowding  incidents,  he 
found  his  situation  in  the  great  house  of  John  Rawn 
one  wholly  to  his  dislike.  He  saw  little  of  his  wife 
Grace  after  the  first  conventional  greeting  on  his  ar 
rival,  and  as  to  the  young  mistress  of  Graystone  Hall, 
she  seemed  so  regularly  to  have  matters  demanding 
her  own  presence  elsewhere,  was  so  busy  with  other 
matters,  as  to  have  small  time  for  him.  The  disturbed 
condition  of  the  stock  market  was  creating  a  furor 


THEY   WHO   SOW   THE   WIND        337 

in  the  business  world,  reflected,  of  course,  in  the  daily 
markets  of  the  western  city;  but  Halsey  had  never 
had  many  investments,  had  watched  the  markets  lit 
tle;  and  now,  isolated  at  Graystone  Hall  almost  as 
much  as  though  upon  a  desert  island,  and  too  much 
disturbed  and  distracted  in  his  own  mind  to  find  any 
definite  interest  in  business  matters,  was  hardly  con 
scious  of  the  storm  that  raged.  He  simply  waited  on, 
unhappily.  It  seemed  to  him  there  was  no  place  for  him 
in  all  the  world.  Why  did  Virginia  remain  aloof? 

Rawn,  absent  in  New  York,  imagined  his  wife  en 
gaged  continuously  in  the  struggle  of  persuading 
Charles  Halsey  to  see  the  light  of  reason,  although  he 
did  not  know  Halsey  was  living  under  the  same  roof 
with  her.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Halsey  and  she  met 
but  rarely.  Virginia  breakfasted  for  the  most  part  in 
her  own  rooms,  and  found,  or  pretended  to  find,  some 
thing  to  occupy  her  for  the  most  part  of  the  day.  Not 
once  did  she  ask  his  attendance,  not  once  did  she  speak 
with  him,  when  by  chance  she  saw  him,  upon  any  but 
casual  or  conventional  matters.  She  seemed  always 
to  evade  him;  and  because  she  did  this,  he,  rebelling, 
sought  her  out  all  the  more,  even  while  continually 
resolving  to  take  his  departure,  and  never  again  to 
see  this  place,  or  her,  again.  He  wondered  at  her  reti 
cence,  her  avoidance  of  him.  He  wondered  why  she 
was  so  pale.  He  loitered  about,  unhappily,  in  this  or 
that  common  meeting  ground  of  the  great  mansion 
house,  waiting  to  hear  the  rustle  of  a  gown  upon  the 
stair,  the  sound  of  a  light  foot  on  a  floor,  the  touch 
of  a  white  hand,  the  sound  of  a  voice — all  things  be 
longing,  not  to  his  wife,  but  to  his  young  stepmother 
by  law. 


338  JOHN    RAWN 


Yes.  Without  his  wish,  in  spite  of  her  wish,  these 
had  become  things  desired,  the  only  things  desirable  any 
more  in  his  distracted  life.  He  lived  under  the  same 
roof  with  two  women,  saw  either  rarely,  and  rarely 
thought  of  but  one — the  wrong  one.  To  atone,  Halsey 
lavished  all  his  time  and  care  on  his  little  hunchback 
daughter,  and  had  her  with  him  as  much  as  the  nurse 
and  doctor  would  allow.  The  child,  undersized,  pale, 
deformed,  silent  and  wistful,  and  pathetic  always,  now 
was  listless  and  weak,  obviously  very  seriously  ill.  It 
wrung  her  father's  heart  to  see  her.  But  Charles  Hal 
sey  wanted  it  wrung.  He  wanted  to  do  bitterest  pen 
ance  for  what  he  now  knew  was  his  secret  sin.  So  the 
ways  of  inordinate  power,  the  consequences,  for  this 
one  or  that  one,  which  follow  on  inordinate  greed, 
worked  themselves  on  out  toward  their  sure  and  log 
ical  ending,  the  mill  of  fate  grinding  those  primarily, 
secondarily,  even  incidentally  guilty. 

At  this  time,  had  Virginia  Rawn  asked  of  him  to 
recant,  to  relent,  to  change,  there  is  likelihood  he 
would  have  done  so.  John  Rawn,  cuckold,  was  right 
in  his  despicable  reasoning.  There  are  many  prices 
which  purchase  principles.  The  weakness  which  had 
prompted  Halsey  to  remain  at  Graystone  Hall  on  such 
a  tenure — which  held  him  there  now,  waiting  for  a 
voice,  listening  for  a  footfall — was  the  ancient  weak 
ness  of  youth  before  youth,  of  strength  before  beauty, 
of  the  empty  heart  before  one  offering  love,  of  the 
mind  finding  perfect  echo  in  another  mind. 

With  all  his  starved  heart,  all  his  repressed  soul,  all 
his  mutinous  body,  Charles  Halsey  loved  Virginia 
Rawn. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THEY   WHO   WATER   WITH    TEARS 


A 5  at  last  the  news  of  John  Rawn's  collapse  broke 
full  and  fair- — disastrous  enough  to  please  even  his 
late  warmest  friends.  The  stock  markets,  East  and 
West,  became  scenes  of  riot.  The  truth,  of  course,  had 
leaked  out  regarding  Rawn's  fight  in  the  last  ditch.  The 
newspapers  swarmed  upon  Graystone  Hall,  besieging 
any  who  could  be  found.  Halsey  refused  to  talk,  and 
moreover,  Rawn  could  not  be  found.  This  threw  them 
upon  their  own  resources,  and* what  they  did  not  know 
they  imagined.  Even  thus,  the  wildest  of  them  all  could 
not  imagine  half;  the  shrewdest  of  the  journalists 
could  not  get  their  hands  on  the  "inside  story"  here. 
No  one  in  or  around  or  back  of  the  stock  exchanges 
could  be  found  possessed  of  secret  information  which 
he  was  willing  to  impart.  Throughout  wild  hours  of 
hurrying,  telegraphing,  investigating,  the  papers  kept 
up  their  frenzied  search  for  the  truth,  and  found  it  not, 
and  knew  they  had  not  found  it. 

Halsey,  one  morning  after  a  sleepless  night,  more 
than  a  week  after  Rawn's  departure  to  New  York,  se 
cured  copies  of  each  of  the  morning  papers.  He  stood 
uncertain,  in  the  great  central  room  of  Graystone  Hall, 

339 


340  JOHN   RAWN 

with  these  black  and  frowning  messengers  of  fate  in 
his  hands,  scarce  daring  to  look  at  them.  He  felt  some 
sense  of  definite  disaster  at  hand.  He  glanced  at  last 
at  one,  and  started  as  though  struck.  Calling  a  serv 
ant,  he  sent  word  to  Mrs.  Rawn  inquiring  if  he  might 
meet  her  at  once. 

She  joined  him  presently,  smiling  faintly,  giving 
him  her  hand,  then  leading  him  to  a  breakfast  table  on 
the  long  gallery  facing  the  lake  front,  a  favorite  spot 
with  her.  She  gave  the  butler  orders  to  serve  them 
breakfast  here  at  once;  for  she  now  learned  Halsey 
had  neither  slept  nor  eaten.  Halsey  did  not  learn  that 
the  same  also  was  true  of  her. 


ii 

They  seated  themselves  and  for  the  time  said  noth- 
mg,  each  gazing  out  over  the  lake.  The  morning  was 
calm  and  beautiful.  The  blue  lake,  just  dotted  with 
little  whitecap  rolling  waves,  seemed  in  amiable  mood, 
and  purred  gently  along  the  sea-wall,  below  the  green 
and  curving  terrace  which  ran  down  from  the  gallery 
front.  A  bird  chirped  here  and  there. 

Little  enough  the  peaceful  scene  reflected  the  feel 
ings  of  these,  its  only  human  figures.  Virginia  Rawn 
was  pale.  Dark  rings  showed  below  her  eyes.  Her 
mouth  drooped  just  a  trifle,  plaintively,  in  a  way  not 
usual  with  her.  She  was  pale,  paler  than  her  usual 
clean  and  clear  ivory.  Yet  she  was  coolly  beautiful 
in  her  morning  gown  of  light  figured  lawn,  with  its 
wide,  flowing1  sleeves,  showing  her  round  white  arms. 
Halsey,  frowningly  serious,  felt  the  charm  of  her  rise 
about  him,  overwhelm  him.  He  knew  that  the  hour 


THEY  WHO  WATER  WITH  TEARS     341 

had  come  for  him  in  more  ways  than  one ;  that  hers, 
for  ever,  was  the  one  face  and  figure  and  voice  and 
presence  for  him,  hopeless  and  unhappy,  and  doomed 
for  ever  so  to  remain.  She  was  not  his  wife.  She  was 
the  wife  of  another  man — of  his  enemy ;  the  man  in  all 
the  world  least  like  himself;  the  man  who,  by  virtue 
of  that  unlikeness,  had  won  this  woman  for  his  own. 
What  hope  for  him,  Charles  Halsey,  for  whom  was  no 
place  in  the  world  ? 

in 

Without  much  comment  he  placed  before  her  the 
morning  papers,  with  their  glaring  head-lines. 

"Well,"  said  he,  "it  is  the  end." 

"Yes?"  said  she,  smiling;  "I  suppose  now  we  can 
learn  all  about  our  earlier  life  and  career  ?" 

"Quite  so.  Here  is  the  entire  history  of  Mr.  Rawn's 
career — what  he  did  when  he  was  a  young  man,  where 
he  came  from,  how  he  rose  to  power,  how  he  failed 
and  fell — it's  all  here.  Here's  the  story  of  the  Inter 
national  Power  Company — they  claim  it  was  intended 
as  a  merger  of  all  the  traction  companies  of  the  eight 
leading  cities  of  the  country !  Bond  issue  one  to  eight 
billion  dollars,  capitalization  one  to  two  hundred  bil 
lion  in  stocks — you  can  take  your  choice  in  crazed  fig 
ures.  Here  are  biographical  histories  of  all  the  known 
and  unknown  stock-holders.  Here,  Mrs.  Rawn,  is  a 
picture  of  yourself,  as  well  as  one  of  Mr.  Rawn  and 
one  more  of  the  house  here — a  new  view,  I  think.  The 
photographer  must  have  made  a  flashlight  of  the 
grounds." 

She  smiled  as  he  tried  to  jest,  following  his  pointing 
finger  along  the  blurred,  brutal  head-lines,  shrieking 


342  JOHN   RAWN 

their  discordant,  impossible  and  inconsistent  tales. 
The  first  paper,  the  Forum,  declared  the  ruin  of  John 
Rawn's  fortune  to  be  now  beyond  all  hope  of  repair. 
Rawn  himself — really  at  that  time  often  in  a  helpless 
stupor  in  a  New  York  hotel  room — was  reported  to 
have  fled  the  country.  Halsey,  his  son-in-law,  and 
Halsey's  wife,  who  really  had  only  denied  themselves 
to  visitors  and  reporters— were  declared  to  be  in  hid 
ing  in  some  secret  apartments  of  the  great  castle  on 
the  North  Shore,  a  place  actually  but  little  known  to 
any  member  of  the  select  North  Side  society  in  which 
Rawn  had  been,  more  or  less  on  sufferance,  received. 
Rawn's  wife  was  also  located  here,  in  a  condition 
verging  on  insanity ;  according  to  the  imagination  of 
the  writers,  which,  after  all,  was  fatefully  near  to  the 
truth. 

Virginia  Rawn  smiled,  and  turned  the  pages.  The 
next  journal  had  little  else  but  detailed  discussion  of 
the  Rawn  collapse.  It  also  asserted  the  scheme  of  the 
International  Power  Company  was  the  most  bold  and 
rapacious  fraud  of  the  day.  With  journalistic  vaticina 
tion  it  insouciantly  declared  that  the  intention  of 
the  company  was  to  establish  central  distributing 
points  for  power  stolen  from  the  public's  great  water 
powers,  and  the  retail  of  what  the  journal  in  the  argot 
of  the  day  called  canned  power,  in  cheap  and  portable 
small  motors  applicable  to  countless  semi-mechanical 
uses,  all  with  an  end  of  abolishing  the  need  for  horse 
power  and  for  man  power  alike.  The  result,  it  pointed 
out,  would  be  the  throwing  out  of  work  of  countless 
thousands  of  laboring  men  by  the  use  of  electricity 
stolen  from  the  people  themselves.  The  gigantic  com 
bination  already  was  covering  the  main  water  powers. 


THEY   WHO   WATER   WITH   TEARS   343 

The  people's  present  openly  had  been  disregarded^ 
the  people's  future  openly  and  patently  had  been 
put  in  the  gravest  of  peril.  The  entire  system  of  gov 
ernment  had  been  laid  by  the  heels.  The  name 
of  the  republic  had  been  made  a  mockery.  Above  all, 
it  was  asserted,  the  most  intimate  intent  of  the  Interna 
tional  Power  Company  had  been  the  throttling  of  the 
labor  unions — against  which  John  Rawn  was  known 
to  be  personally  bitterly  opposed — the  very  essence 
and  soul  of  the  conspiracy  having  been  this  device 
whose  aim  was  to  wipe  out  the  need  of  unskilled  labor, 
and  to  make  useless  and  unpaid  the  power  of  human 
brawn. 

IV 

Following  these  assertions — which  after  all  were  not 
in  the  least  bad  journalism,  however  good  or  bad  had 
been  the  design  of  International  Power — the  same  jour 
nal  exultantly  declared  that  labor  need  not  yet  despair, 
for  that  the  gigantic  conspiracy  now  had  fallen  in 
ruins;  its  leader  had  abdicated  and  fled,  and  his  ill- 
gotten  gains  had  been  dissipated  in  his  last  desperate 
attempt  to  save  his  holdings  in  other  stocks.  In  his 
ultimate  fight  he  had  surrendered  the  control  of  the 
International,  so  long  and  desperately  held  in  his  own 
ership,  and  now  was  ousted  from  the  presidency,  other 
managers  being  left  in  charge  of  the  wreck  of  a  des 
perate  marauder's  attempt  to  throttle  a  republic  and 
to  rule  a  country.  And  so  forth,  to  many  extra  pages, 
all  deliciously  explicit,  and  wondrous  welcome  alike  to 
those  who  purchase  and  those  who  purvey  the  news. 

The  chronicle  of  all  this  was  accompanied  in  this 
journal  not  only  with  pictures  of  Graystone  Hall,  but 


344  JOHN   RAWN 

of  the  abandoned  factory  of  the  International  Power 
Company;  also  with  portraits  of  Rawn  and  his  wife 
and  of  Charles  Halsey,  late  superintendent  of  the 
company;  as  well  as  those  of  Jim  Sullivan,  the  fore 
man,  Ann  Sullivan,  his  wife,  and  other  labor  leaders 
sometimes  concerned  about  the  mysterious  factory 
which  had  housed  the  desperate  secret  of  International 
Power.  As  it  chanced,  the  portraits  of  Ann  Sullivan 
and  Virginia  Rawn  had  been  exchanged,  so  that  the 
beautiful  Mrs.  Rawn  appeared  as  a  hard-featured  Irish 
woman  of  more  than  middle  age ;  whereas  Mrs.  Sulli 
van,  wife  of  the  well-known  labor  leader,  presented  a 
somewhat  distinguished  figure  in  her  eminently  hand 
some  gown  and  obviously  valuable  jewels. 


Virginia  Rawn  looked  calmly,  smilingly,  over  these 
and  many  other  varying  details  of  these  closing  scenes 
in  her  career.  "Very  well,"  said  she,  pointing  to  the 
likeness  accredited  to  her  name,  "this  is  the  last  time 
my  portrait  will  appear  in  print,  I  suppose.  What  dif 
ference  does  it  make  ?  The  older  and  uglier  I  am,  the 
better  the  story!  Perhaps  for  once  Mrs.  Sullivan, 
when  she  sees  her  picture — young,  rich,  with  plenty  of 
jewels — will  think  her  dreams  have  come  true!  Maybe 
she's  dreamed — I  know  I  did ;  and  I  know  what  I  am. 
The  names  and  pictures  are  right,  just  as  they  are. 
She  wins,  not  I. 

"But  yes,  I  suppose  this  is  the  end  of  it  all,  as  you 
say,"  she  added  wearily,  almost  indifferently.  "Of 
course,  we've  known  it  was  coming.  I  suppose  there 
was  nothing  else  could  come  of  it  all." 


THEY  WHO  WATER  WITH   TEARS    345 

Halsey  at  first  could  make  no  answer  except  to  drop 
his  face  in  his  hands.  A  half  groan  escaped  him,  in 
spite  of  his  attempt  to  rival  her  courage  or  her  indif 
ference,  whichever  it  might  be. 

"I've  done  this,"  he  said  at  last;  "I've  brought  all 
this  on  you.  It's  all  my  fault,  and  it's  too  late  now  for 
me  to  help  it.  We  couldn't  straighten  out  things  in 
the  business  now,  even  if  I  went  back  to  work.  It's  too 
late.  I've  ruined  you,  Mrs.  Rawn." 

"Yes,  that's  plain,"  she  answered  quietly.  "But 
isn't  this  just  what  you  wanted?  Haven't  you  always 
resented  the  success  of  others,  deprecated  the  wish  of 
some  men  to  get  money  at  any  cost?  Aren't  you  a 
Socialist  at  heart?  Didn't  you  want  this — just  this?" 

"Want  it?  No!  How  could  I  want  anything  which 
meant  harm  for  you?  If  only  you  had  come  to  me  and 
asked  me  to  go  back — asked  me  to  get  into  line !" 

"You'd  have  done  it,  wouldn't  you,  Charley — for 
me  ?"  She  smiled  at  him,  her  small,  white  teeth  show 
ing.  But  back  of  her  smile  he  felt  the  pulse  of  a  mind. 

"I  don't  know — how  could  I  have  helped  it?" 

"Then  you'd  have  forgotten  all  your  loyalty  to  those 
people  over  there  ?  You'd  have  forgotten  all  about  the 
rights  of  man  of  which  you  told  me,  and  your  devotion 
to  the  principles  of  this  republic  of  which  you  talked — 
is  that  true  ?  You'd  have  forgotten  all,  everything,  for 
me?" 

VI 

"Yes,  I  would!"  He  looked  her  fair  in  the  eye, 
truthfully.  "I  know  that,  now — I  didn't  know  it  then, 
but  I  do  now.  Yes,  I  would.  Just  as  I  told  him — Mr. 
Rawn." 


346  JOHN   RAWN 

"You  told  him,  what?" 

"Why,  that  we  all  have  our  price.  I  suppose  I  had 
mine." 

"So  you'd  have  done  that  if  I  had  asked  you?" 

"Then  in  God's  name  why  did  you  not  ask  me  ?  At 
least,  I'd  have  saved  you  this!"  He  smote  on  the 
paper  with  his  clenched  fist  "Why  didn't  you  ask  me 
to  save  you  this  humiliation?" 

"I  did  not,  because  I  knew  all  along  what  you'd  do 
if  I  did  ask  you." 

Silence  fell  between  them  now.  "Why  didn't  you?" 
he  once  mare  demanded,  half-whispering.  "You'd 
already  won.  You'd  have  won  me — my  principles — 
my  honor." 

"Because  I  did  not  want  to  win!"  she  answered 
sharply. 

"Win  what?" 

"I  was  sent  to  bring  you  into  camp,  to  'get'  you, 
Charley.  I  did  not  want  to — I  did  not !  I  was  afraid 
I  would!" 

"I  don't  think  I  quite  understand." 

His  face  was  white,  his  voice  low  and  clear,  his  eye 
full  on  hers. 

"I  was  sent  out  for  you,  Charley — by  my  own  hus 
band  !  You  know  it,  we  both  knew  it.  I  suppose  he's 
been  waiting  somewhere  for  me  to  get  word  to  him 
that  I  had  done  what  I  was  told  to  do — that  I  had  got 
you  in  hand,  willing  to  renounce  everything  that  you 
held  good  in  your  own  life.  Well,  it's  too  late,  now ! 
I'm  glad !" 

"He  sent  you  out  after  me! — With  what  restric 
tions—?" 

"None.    He  didn't  care  how.    He  told  me  he  didn't. 


THEY  WHO  WATER  WITH  TEARS    347 

That's  why  I've  been  keeping  away  from  you.    I  was 
afraid  I'd  win — I  was  afraid  I'd  save  all  this." 

She  nodded  her  head,  including  the  splendors  of 
the  mansion  house,  its  view  of  the  lake,  all  the  gra 
cious,  delicate  ministries  of  Wealth. 


VII 

"Good  God!"  Halsey  broke  out.  "The  man  who 
would  do  that  is  not  worth  a  woman's  second  thought." 

"Of  course  not.  And  the  woman  who  would  do 
that—?" 

"Don't  ask  me  about  that ;  I  can't  think.  All  I  know 
is  that  if  you  had  asked  me  to  do  anything  in  the 
world,  I  think  I'd  have  said  yes." 

"Forme?" 

"Yes,  for  you.  It's  the  truth.  It's  all  out,  at  last ! 
There's  the  whole  story  now  of  John  Rawn — all  of  it, 
in  black  and  white !  Here's  all  my  story — to  you. 
You  must  have  known — " 

"Yes,"  she  nodded;  "of  course.  That  was  why,  I 
said,  that  I've  evaded  you  so  long.  It  was  very  hard 
to  do,  Charley ;  a  hundred  times  I've  been  on  the  point 
of  sending  for  you.  But  I  didn't." 

"I'm  glad,  too,"  he  said  simply,  seeing  it  was  to 
be  soul  facing  soul,  between  them  now.  "I've  missed 
you.  I've  never  passed  such  days  in  my  life  as  I  have 
here.  There's  Grace  hating  me,  you  ought  to  hate 
me — I  ought  to  hate  you !  Oh,  Rawn,  man !  Where 
would  you  have  stopped,  to  get  money,  to  get  power? 
Oh,  excellent ! — to  set  your  wife  as  a  trap  for  another 
man !  But  it  worked !  It  could  have  been  done !"  He 
looked  her  frankly  in  the  face  as  he  finished.  "I  love 


348  JOHN   RAWN 

you,  Virginia,"  he  said  simply.  "I  suppose  I  have  all 
along.  It's  cheap,  after  all — at  this  price.  But  for  all 
this,  I  never  could  have  told  you. 

"But  one  thing  I  will  say," — the  unhappy  young 
man  added,  after  a  long  time;  "it's  the  one  thing  I 
can  claim  for  an  excuse.  My  price  was  love  for  you, 
and  good  love.  It  was  the  whole  love  of  man  for 
woman — I  never  knew  before  what  that  meant!  It 
wasn't  for  money,  but  for  you.  That  great,  mysterious 
second  current — what  you  yourself  said  was  the  one 
vast  power  of  all  the  universe — that  belonged  to  every 
body — love — love — I  thought  that  belonged  to  me,  too. 
I  can't  see  even  now  where  that  is  wrong.  I  can't 
think,  I  don't  know.  If  it  is  wrong,  then  I've  been 
wrong.  We're  down  in  the  mire  together !  I  dragged 
you  there.  And  once  I  dreamed  of  doing  something 
to  lift  people  up — that  was  why  I  mutinied  and  tore 
up  the  motors.  And  I  had  my  own|  selfish  price. 
...  I  can  never  lift  up  my  head  again.  But  I  love 


you !" 


VIII 


She  looked  at  him,  her  lips  parted,  her  bosom  agi 
tated  now,  her  eyes  large,  her  color  slowly  increasing. 
"You  must  not ! — Stop,  we  must  think !  Charley — " 

"But  why  didn't  you?"  he  demanded  fiercely.  "Why 
didn't  you  finish  your  work  as  you  promised  ?" 

"I  never  promised.  I  didn't  finish  it — because  I 
knew  I  could.  I  told  you — it  was — Charley — yes — it 
was — love !" 

"Forme?" 

He  half  started  up  now,  but  she  raised  a  hand  to  re 
strain  him. 


THEY  WHO  WATER  WITH  TEARS    349 

"The  servants!"  she  whispered.  Indeed,  even  as 
she  spoke  she  saw  the  livery  of  the  butler  disappearing 
at  the  tall  glass  doors  letting  out  to  the  gallery.  She 
did  not  know  that  the  butler  had  seen  much  and  heard 
somewhat ;  that  being  a  butler  he  was  wise. 

"But  it's  got  to  be — we've  got  to  go  through  now !" 
he  went  on  savagely.  "Why  did  you  start  this,  then? 
Why  did  you  let  me  know?" 

"It  was  he  who  started  it  in  me — ambition !  No,  I 
always  had  it.  From  the  day  I  was  born  I  wanted  to 
climb,  to  win,  to  be  rich,  to  have  things  in  my  hands. 
All  girls  want  that,  I  suppose,  till  they  know  how  little 
it  is.  So  I  married  him — I  tried  to,  and  I  did.  I  kne^y 
he  had  money.  .  .  .  But  then  there  was  more  I  wanted, 
after  all.  I  only  wanted  that  something  else,  too,  that 
any  woman  wants — what  she's  got  to  have,  once  in 
her  life,  rich  or  poor,  because  she's  a  woman — some 
one  who  truly  loves  her  for  herself  as  she  is,  because 
she  is  what  she  is — because  she's  a  woman ! 

"Oh,  I  looked  all  around  me  here,  a  long  time  after 
I  came  here,  for  what  I'd  missed.  I've  never  been 
happy  here.  I  didn't  have  it.  I  wanted  it.  At  last 
I  saw  it.  I  wanted  it.  Its  price  is  ruin — for  two, 
you  and  me.  I'm  like  you.  If  it's  wrong,  I  don't 
know  where  the  wrong  began !  I  didn't  mind,  so  far 
as  I  was  concerned.'  Let  a  woman  love  you,  and  she'll 
do  anything,  no  matter  how  it  hurts — herself.  But 
not  you — not  the  man  she  loves  and  wants  to  respect, 
Charley." 

"But — me?    I  am  not  good  enough  for  you!" 

"Oh,  boy !  How  sweet  that  sounds  to  me !  Say  it 
over  again  to  me !  You  make  me  think  I  might  some 
day  be  worth  a  man's  love.  It's  got  away  from  us 


350  JOHN    RAWN 

now.  It's  all  too  late.  Everything's  too  late.  When 
he — Mr.  Rawn — comes  back,  we've  got  to  tell  him. 
I've  clone  what  I  was  set  to  do — but  not  the  way  he 
thought,  not  the  way  any  of  us  thought !" 


IX 

"Yes,  he  must  know  !"  Halsey  nodded.  He  held  her 
hand  now  in  his  own.  They  swept  on,  as  upon  some 
vast  wave,  helpless,  clinging  to  each  other,  he  doing 
what  he  could  to  save  her. 

"I  don't  know  how  to  tell  him,"  she  wailed.  "There 
was  something  Pagan  in  me  and  I  didn't  know  it.  I 
thought  I  was  in  hand,  but  I  wasn't!  I  started  low, 
and  I  wanted  to  climb  up — and  up — and  up !  Oh, 
Charley,  look!"  She  leaned  toward  him  across  the 
table,  pleading.  "I  was  just  ambitious,  just  like  any 
American  girl — like  every  woman  in  the  world,  I 
suppose.  If  I  sold  out,  I  didn't  know  it.  I  didn't  want 
you  to  care  for  me.  But  you  did,  you  do!  I  kept 
away  from  you,  so  that  you  wouldn't,  so  that  we 
couldn't — so  that  I'd  always  feel  that  you,  at  least — " 

"Where  can  it  end?"  he  asked  quietly. 

"I  don't  care  where  it  ends,  that's  the  worst  of  it; 
I  don't  care!  One  thing  only  is  to  my  credit.  I've 
kept  my  bargain — with  him.  I've  paid  the  price  I 
agreed  to  give.  There  is  no  scandal  about  me — yet. 
And  there  might  have  been !" 

"Yes." 

"But  some  way,  when  he  sent  me  out  for  you,  talked 
to  me  as  he  did,  treated  me  like  a  piece  of  merchan 
dise  as  he  did— for  once  I  wavered.  For  once,  Charley, 
it  seemed  to  me  that  I  was  released  from  all  obliga- 


THEY  WHO  WATER  WITH   TEARS    351 

tions  to  him,  that  I  was  where  I  ought  to  have  a  chance 
for  my  own  hand,  to  see  life  as  life  could  be  for  itself, 
to  have  the  love  that's  life  for  a  woman.  I  wanted  to 
be  wooed  and  won  by  some  one  who  loved  me,  just  as 
any  woman  wants  to  be,  Charley,  some  time!  And  I 
wasn't — I  w.asn't.  ...  It  was  horrible.  ...  It 
was  horrible.  ...  I  wanted  to  give  love  for  love. 
I  wanted  what  I  couldn't  get,  and  saw  it  was  too  late 
to  get  it  fair.  And  when  I  saw  that  you — that  even 
you'd  sell  out  for  me — why,  where  was  the  good,  clean 
thing  left  in  all  the  world?  I  couldn't  tell.  I  didn't 
know  what  to  do.  I  don't  know  now.  But  you  put 
these  papers  before  me  now,  and  you  expect  me  to 
shed  tears  over  them.  I  can't.  I  don't  care.  The 
worst  was  over  for  me  before  now.  It  came  when  I 
knew  you'd  love  me  if  I'd  raise  a  finger  to  you.  Why 
didn't  you  make  me  love  you  first — long  ago?  Then 
all  would  have  come  right.  Back  there — at  first — " 

'They'll  say  that  when  your  husband  lost  his  for 
tune  he  lost  his  wife.  Yes — "  he  nodded.  "They'll 
say  that  and  believe  it !  That  isn't  true !" 

"No,  that  isn't  true.  I  was  done  with  him  the 
moment  he  set  this  errand  for  me.  No  woman  can 
love  a  man  who  will  do  that.  But  I  was  done  with 
him — from  the  first  I  never  love'd  him,  I  never  did — I 
only  married  him !  I  sold  out — what  I  had  to  sell,  my 
self,  my  fitness  for  a  place  like  this.  That  was  what 
I  called  success!  I  wanted  to  be  some  one  in  the 
world !  Look  at  me  now — " 


They  sat,  two  figures  in  an  inexorable  drama  that 
swept  relentlessly  forward;  tasting  of  a  part  of  am- 


352  JOHN   RAWN 

bition's  ripened  fruit;  yet  hungering  with  the  vast, 
pitiful,  merciless  human  hunger  for  that  other  fruit 
that  hung  in  a  garden  once  not  lost. 

"If  it  costs  my  soul,  I'll  stand  by  you,"  he  said  at 
last ;  and  he  reached  out  a  hand  to  her  suddenly. 

"No,  no!"  she  cried.  "Wait!  Wait!  I  want  to 
think !" 

A  discreet  cough  sounded.  The  butler  approached 
bearing  coffee.  He  wore  a  half  sneer  on  his  face  now, 
the  sneer  of  the  unpaid  mercenary.  He  doubted,  and 
had  cause  to  doubt,  whether  the  last  month's  salary 
would  be  forthcoming;  for  butlers  read  morning 
papers.  "Ah,  er,  Mrs.  Rawn — "  he  began. 

"What  do  you  want?  How  dare  you  speak  to  me!" 
she  rejoined.  "I  do  not  care  to  be  disturbed!  You 
may  go!" 

He  did  go ;  and  this  was  on  an  errand  of  his  own, 
an  errand  which  ended  in  Grace  Halsey's  chambers. 
For  butlers  sometimes  take  ingenious  revenge. 

XI 

Halsey  and  Virginia  Rawn  sat  on  for  a  time  at  the 
table,  the  almost  untasted  breakfast  before  them.  The 
sun  grew  warmer.  After  a  time  she  rose,  and  they 
passed  from  the  gallery  toward  the  interior  of  the 
Chouse.  The  tray  upon  the  hall  table  held  a  scanty 
morning  load  for  it — one  letter  and  a  telegram;  the 
former  addressed  to  Mrs.  Charles  Halsey,  the  latter 
to  herself. 

"Shall  I?"  she  asked,  and  tore  the  envelope  across. 

"It  must  be  from  him,"  he  said.  She  tossed  it  to 
him. 

"•Home  to-night.    JOHN  RAWN." 


CHAPTER  IX 

WHAT  CHEER  OF  THE  HARVEST? 


THE  blood  of  youth  is  hot.  He  followed  her,  in 
spite  of  all,  forgetting  all.  They  had  advanced 
across  the  hall  toward  the  gold  room,  or  library. 

"Oh,  Charley,  Charley !  Don't  begin,  wait  a  little," 
she  wailed.  "At  least  till  to-night,  till  afternoon.  I 
don't  know  what  to  say  yet.  I  don't  know  what  to 
do !  Let  us  see  him  first,  and  tell  him." 

"Look  about  you,"  he  commented  grimly.  "You're 
going  to  lose  all  this — all  these  splendid,  beautiful 
things." 

"I  don't  mind  losing  them.  I  want  to  be  poor.  Oh, 
my  God !  Just  to  be  loved,  and  clean !  Charley,  can 
we?" 

"But  why  choose  me?    There  are  so  many  others!" 

"All  like  Mr.  Rawn  himself — men  crazed  of  money, 
power,  selfishness.  I  wanted  something  different.  Do 
you  think  it  could  have  been  my  father's  old  ideas 
coming  out  in  me,  so  late?  He  came  of  a  family  of 
revolutionists — independents;  'Progressives,'  they  call 
them  now.  Something  of  his  beliefs — I  don't  know 
what  it  was — " 

"But  you'll  have  to  leave  him  in  any  case.  Divorce 
353 


354  JOHN    RA.WN 

is  simple  enough.  You  know  what  I  would  have  done, 
and  done,  also,  in  any  case.  Grace  and  I — " 

"Yes,  I  know  all  about  everything.  Everything's 
past,"  she  said  despairingly.  "We're  dead.  It's  all 
over!" 

"I  ought  to  go?"  he  asked  vaguely. 

"Yes,  pretty  soon.  But  I  suppose  you'll  have  to  see 
Grace,  and — to-night  I'll  have  to  see — " 

He  bowed  his  head.  "Yes,  we've  got  to  pay  that 
part  first.  The  best  we  can  do  and  all  we  can  give 
ought  to  be  enough  for  him." 


n 

She  turned,  left  him,  passing-  through  the  great 
doors  to  the  central  rooms  within.  Following  her 
still,  he  found  her  at  the  stair  and  joined  her.  There 
approached  them  now,  with  hasty  tread  and  face  some 
what  excited,  the  medical  man  who  had  been  for  so 
many  days  now  in  attendance  upon  Grace  Rawn  and 
her  child.  He  had  come  on  his  morning  visit  un 
noticed  by  them. 

"Ah,"  he  began,  "I'm  glad  to  find  you,  Mrs.  Rawn 
— and  you,  Mr.  Halsey — I've  been  looking  for  you — 
Come!  Come  quickly!"  His  face  showed  plainly  his 
agitation. 

"Is  there  anything  wrong?"  demanded  Halsey 
sharply.  "What's  the  trouble?" 

"It  is  my  duty  to  tell  you  the  truth,"  began  the 
doctor.  "Your  wife  is  a  very  sick  woman,  indeed." 

"I  know  that,  yes." 

"But  not  the  worst  until  this  morning,  until  just 
now.  Something — " 


WHAT   CHEER   OF   THE   HARVEST      355 

"I've  been  here  in  the  house  waiting — why  did  you 
not  call  me?"  began  Halsey  clumsily. 

"You  must  not  ivait!"  the  doctor  interrupted  him, 
taking  him  by  the  arm  and  hastening  toward  the  stair 
way. 

They  followed  him  up  the  stair,  down  the  upper 
hall,  to  the  rooms  which  had  been  set  apart  of  late 
days  for  Grace  and  her  child,  quarters  all  too  unfa 
miliar  to  Halsey  himself. 

They  found  Grace  Halsey,  faint  and  gasping,  half 
sitting  in  her  bed,  clasping  the  child  in  her  arms,  her 
self  too  weak  now  longer  to  hold  it  up.  Halsey,  strick 
en  with  sudden  horror,  ran  to  take  the  child  in  his  own 
arms. 

The  truth  was  obvious.  Even  as  he  lifted  the  poor 
crippled  form  in  his  arms,  the  head  fell  back,  helpless. 
The  eyes  glazed,  turned  back  uncovered.  Halsey  cried 
out  aloud.  He  turned  about,  dazed ;  horror  and  help 
lessness  were  on  his  face.  It  was  to  Virginia  Rawn  he 
turned,  as  to  the  other  part  of  himself. 

It  was  Virginia  Rawn  who  took  from  him  the  feeble, 
misshapen  body,  gathering  it  into  her  own  arms.  She 
gazed  intently,  frowning,  grieving  a  woman's  grief 
over  suffering,  bending  over  its  face;  her  own  face 
held  back  over  it  when  she  saw  the  truth.  Then  she 
passed  him  and  placed  the  body  of  the  child  upon  its 
cot  near-by,  covering  it  gently. 


in 

"Grace,  Grace!"  sobbed  Halsey.  He  fell  upon  his 
knees  at  his  wife's  bedside.  She  did  not  see  him,  did 
not  recognize  him,  although  she  turned  a  questioning 


356  JOHN   RAWN 

face  toward  him.  "Me,  too !"  lie  cried.  "I  want  to  go ! 
I  want  to  die  and  end  it !  Everything's  wrong  .  .  ." 

"Come,"  said  the  doctor  presently;  "it's  too  late 
now.  I'll  call  for  you  after  a  time."  He  took  Halsey 
by  the  arm  and  led  him  from  the  room.  Returning,  he 
signed  for  Virginia  Rawn  also  to  leave  the  sick  cham 
ber.  Left  alone,  the  medical  man  turned  to  the  profes 
sional  nurse  in  attendance.  "Keep  it  quiet,"  he  said. 
"It  would  hurt  my  practice — do  you  hear?" 

He  kicked  beneath  the  bed  a  small  broken  vial,  and 
wiped  away  the  stain  from  the  lips  of  the  dying 
woman. 

The  doctor,  of  course,  had  his  guess,  the  public  its 
guess,  the  daily  papers  theirs.  The  truth  was,  Grace 
Halsey,  by  butler  route,  had  learned  of  the  tete-a-tete 
of  her  husband  and  her  stepmother  a  half  hour  before 
this  time. 


CHAPTER  X 


THOSE   WHO    REAP   THE    WHIRLWIND 


GRACE  HALSEY,  dead,  her  crippled  child  dead 
beside  her,  never  knew  the  contents  of  the  letter 
which  had  been  received  for  her  that  morning.  It  still 
laid  on  the  hall  table  unnoticed.  There  was  almost 
none  to  pay  attention  to  the  many  duties  of  the  house 
hold.  The  last  servants  had  begun  to  pass,  scenting 
disaster  even  as  had  others.  The  magic  which  had 
builded  this  mansion  house  now  lacked  strength  to 
hold  its  tenantry.  There  remained  now  only  one  man — 
the  butler,  lingering  for  his  pay.  Only  two  persons 
might  still  be  said  to  be  actuated  by  any  sense  of 
loyalty  or  duty  to  Graystone  Hall  and  its  owner — 
Halsey  and  Virginia  Rawn. 

Of  duty — to  what  and  to  whom?  They  dared  not 
ask,  dared  not  think.  They  waited,  they  knew  not  for 
what.  The  master  of  this  mansion  house  was  forth 
upon  his  business.  Somewhere,  he  was  hastening 
toward  his  home.  When  he  might  be  expected  they 
did  not  know.  Nor  did  the  master  know  what  news 
awaited  him  upon  his  coming. 

357 


358  JOHN    RAWN 


ii 

The  evening1  dailies  came  out  upon  the  streets,  reel 
ing  and  reeking  with  the  last  accumulating  sensations 
of  the  Rawn  disasters.  The  business  world  continued 
to  rub  its  eyes,  the  social  world  continued  to  exult. 
Many  and  many  a  woman  smiled  that  evening  as  she 
contemplated  proofs  of  the  downfall  of  one  whom 
once  she  had  envied.  The  Rawns,  it  now  seemed,  had 
all  along  been  known,  by  everybody  who  was  anybody, 
to  have  been  nobody  at  all.  They  who  had  sown  the 
wind,  had  the  whirlwind  for  their  reaping.  This  was 
the  general  day  of  harvest  for  Graystone  Hall. 

But  the  day  passed  on.  Shadows  lengthened  be 
yond  the  tall  towers  and  softened  as  they  fell  toward 
the  east.  The  soft  airs  of  evening,  turning,  came  in 
across  the  open  gallery  front.  Night  came,  night  un 
broken  by  more  than  a  few  lights  in  all  the  myriad 
windows  of  this  stately  monument  which  John  Rawn 
had  builded  as  proof  of  his  personal  success.  Vehicles, 
passing  slowly,  held  occupants  staring  in  curiosity  at 
this  vast,  vacant  pile.  Human  sympathy  lacked, 
human  aid  there  was  not. 


in 

Thus  it  chanced  easily  that  there  passed  up  the  long 
driveway  of  Graystone  Hall,  almost  unnoticed,  a  ve 
hicle  carrying  one  who  seemed  a  stranger  there ;  an 
elderly,  rather  tall  woman  of  gray  hair  and  unfashion 
able  garb,  who  made  such  insistence  with  the  servant 
at  the  door  that  at  length  she  won  her  way  through. 

Her  errand  seemed  not  one  of  curiosity,  nor  did  she 


THOSE  WHO  REAP  THE  WHIRLWIND    359 

lack  in  decision.  She  left  upon  the  table  an  old-fash 
ioned  reticule,  and  following  the  advice  given  her,  in 
reply  to  her  question,  passed  up  the  stair  and  down  the 
upper  hall,  to  the  room  where  lay  Grace  Halsey  and 
her  child.  There,  unknown  by  any  of  the  household 
and  accepted  by  those  whose  professional  duties  took 
them  thither,  she  remained  for  many  hours.  Halsey 
and  Virginia  Rawn  did  not  know  of  her  coming. 

It  was  a  cold  home-coming,  also,  which  awaited  John 
Rawn.  But  he  came  at  last,  to  meet  that  which  was 
for  him  to  encounter.  It  was  night.  The  lights  were 
few  and  dim.  None  greeted  him  at  his  own  gate,  none 
even  at  his  own  door,  which  was  left  unguarded.  At 
length  he  found  the  solitary  footman-butler,  asleep  in 
a  chair,  the  worse  for  wine. 

"Where  is  she?"  he  demanded.  "Where  is  Mrs. 
Rawn?" 

He  turned  before  he  could  be  coherently  answered, 
and  passed  down  the  hall  toward  the  library,  through 
whose  closed  doors  he  saw  a  faint  light  gleaming. 


IV 

Something  impelled  John  Rawn  to  hesitate.  He 
stood,  himself  the  very  picture  of  despair,  his  face 
drawn,  haggard,  unshaven,  his  hair  disordered,  his 
hands  twitching.  He  must  find  his  wife,  he  said  to 
himself;  he  must  ask  her  what  success  she  had  had 
with  their  last  hope.  Yes,  yes,  it  must  be  true !  With 
Halsey's  aid  he  would  yet  win!  If  she  had  won — • 
Halsey  would  yet  be  on  his  side — Halsey  would  tell 
him — Halsey  would  go  back  to  the  factory — 

But  John  Rawn  hesitated  at  this  door.     He  felt, 


360  JOHN   RAWN 

rather  than  knew,  believed  rather  than  was  advised, 
that  his  wife  was  beyond  that  door.  He  waited,  appre 
hensive,  but  kept  up  with  himself  the  pitiful  pretense 
of  self-deception.  Ah,  power,  control,  command  I— 
those  were  the  great  things  of  the  world,  he  reasoned. 
True,  he  knew  his'  daughter  lay  dead  in  her  room  on 
the  floor  above — the  paper  he  held  in  his  hand  told 
him  that ;  for  at  last  the  doctor  had  prepared  his  state 
ment  regarding  Mrs.  Halsey's  death  by  "heart  failure" 
— the  rich  and  all  akin  to  them  always  die  respectably, 
in  a  house  so  large  as  Graystone  Hall.  But  it  was  too 
late  to  save  her,  Rawn  reasoned.  Let  the  dead  bury 
the  dead.  The  larger  things  must  outweigh  the  small. 
He  first  must  know  what  his  wife  had  done  with 
Halsey. 

To  the  tense,  strained  nerves  of  John  Rawn  the 
truth  was  now  as  apparent  as  it  had  been  to  the  sensi 
bilities  of  all  these  others,  late  friends,  servants,  sy 
cophants.  Ruin  was  here,  in  his  citadel,  his  castle  of 
pride.  Only  one  thing  could  save  him.  .  .  .  He 
hesitated  at  the  door,  held  back  from  that  which  he 
knew  he  was  about  to  face.  .  .  .  But  no,  he  rea 
soned,  she  was  there  alone,  he  must  see  her ! 

He  flung  open  the  folding  doors  and  stood  holding 
them  apart. 


Yes,  she  was  there!  John  Rawn's  %ce  drew  into  a 
ghastly  smile.  Yes,  she  had  won!  She,  *-he  wonder 
ful  woman,  had  triumphed  as  he  had  planned  for  her 
to  triumph.  She  had  won !  .  .  . 

They  stood  before  him,  those  two,  silent,  face  to 
face,  embraced;  their  arms  about  each  other  even  as 


THOSE  WHO  REAP  THE  WHIRLWIND    361 

he  flung  wide  the  door.  They  turned  to  him  now, 
stupefied,  so  weary,  so  overstrained,  that  their  arms 
still  hung,  embraced.  The  face  of  each  was  white, 
desolate,  unhappy;  more  hopeless  and  desperate  than 
terrified,  but  horrible.  They  were  lovers.  They  loved, 
but  what  could  love  do  for  them,  so  late  ?  They  had 
paid — but  what  right  had  they  to  love,  so  late  ? 

John  Rawn,  the  man  who  had  wrought  all  this, 
stood  and  gazed,  ghastly,  smiling  distortedly,  at  his 
wife's  face.  Why,  then,  should  she  be  unhappy? 
What  was  to  be  lost  save  that  which  he,  John  Rawn, 
was  losing — or  had  been  about  to  lose? 

But  he  was  startled,  stupefied,  himself,  for  one  mo 
ment.  He  turned  back,  hesitating;  and  so  tiptoed 
away,  leaving  them,  although  the  joint  knowledge  of 
all  was  obvious.  They  had  not  spoken  a  word,  had  not 
started  apart,  had  only  gazed  at  him  like  dead  persons, 
white,  silent,  motionless — not  lovers ;  no,  not  lovers. 

For  one-half  instant,  alone  in  the  wide  and  darkened 
hall,  Rawn  straightened  himself  up,  threw  his  chest 
out.  Yes,  she  had  won — she  had  done  her  task !  She 
held  Charles  Halsey  fast — there — in  her  embrace.  He, 
John  Rawn,  multimillionaire,  collector  of  rare  objects, 
one  of  God's  anointed  rich,  had  the  shrewdest  wife  the 
world  had  ever  seen,  the  most  beautiful,  the  most  suc 
cessful  ! 

Had  he  not  seen — was  it  not  there  before  his 
eyes?  She  had  his  one  enemy  netted,  in  her  power — 
there — had  he  not  seen?  She  brought  him,  bound 
hand  and  foot,  to  him,  John  Rawn!  Could  a  man 
doubt  his  eyes?  They  had  hunted  well  in  couple,  he 
and  his  wife,  and  now;  she  had  pulled  down  their  latest 
victim ! 


362  JOHN   RAWN 

What  mattered  the  means  ? — there  was  but  one  great 
thing.  And  the  great  things  must  outweigh  the  small. 
He  was  a  man  of  power.  He  had  been  born  for  suc 
cess.  He  was — 

VI 

He  stood,  half  in  the  shadow,  hesitant.  Then  he 
heard  other  feet  approaching  him  slowly.  His  wife, 
Virginia,  came  and  took  him  by  the  arm  and  had  him 
within  the  door;  closed  it  back  of  him;  and,  leaving 
him,  advanced  to  where,  Halsey  stood.  She  took  Hal- 
sey  by  the  hand.  ...  It  seemed  a  singular  thing 
to  Rawn,  this  performance;  in  fact,  almost  improper, 
if  the  truth  were  known.  .  .  .  So  it  seemed  to  John 
Rawn's  mind,  a  trifle  clouded  with  distress  and  drink. 

"Well,"  said  she  apathetically;  and  held  her  peace 
as  he  frowned  and  looked  at  her  dumbly. 

"Well !"  he  broke  out  at  last ;  "I'm  back  again  !— 
You're  here,  I  see."  This  last  to  Halsey.  . 

They  two  stood  and  regarded  him  without  comment. 
Halsey  kept  his  eye  on  Rawn's  hand,  expecting 
some  sudden  movement  for  a  weapon.  He  was  incred 
ulous  that  any  man  could  sustain  Rawn's  attitude 
toward  him.  War,  and  nothing  but  war,  seemed  inevi 
table  between  himself  and  Rawn,  the  man  whom  he 
had  wronged,  the  man  who  had  wronged  him. 

"I  suppose — I  see — "  began  Rawn  clr  nsily,  after 
a  while.  "Of  course,  you  have  probably  been  here  all 
the  time,  Charley.  I  came  back  as  soon  as  I  could. 
I've  been  having  all  kinds  of  trouble  in  S  t .  Louis  and 
New  York.  Everything's  all  gone  to  piece j." 

They  did  not  answer  him,  and  he  shuffled. 

"Have  you  anything  to  say?"  he  demanded  of  his 


THOSE  WHO  REAP  THE  WHIRLWIND     363 

wife;  "Has  Mr.  Halsey — Charley — agreed? — Have 
you  persuaded  him  to — " 

"You  wish  to  know  whether  I  have  done  what  I 
was  told  to  do — is  that  it?"  she  demanded  of  him 
coldly. 

"Yes ;  have  you  ?" 

"I  have.  Here  is  Mr.  Halsey.  I  have  kept  my 
word.  You  have  seen.  I  told  you  I  could  bring  him 
in,  bound  hand  and  foot.  Kiss  me,  Charley,"  she 
cried.  "Oh !  kiss  me !"  And  he  did  kiss  her.  Cold, 
white,  hand  in  hand,  dead,  they  then  faced  him  again. 


VII 

"Is  it  true?"  began  Rawn.  His  eyes  lighted  up 
suddenly.  "He  has  agreed?" 

Halsey  broke  in  now.  "It  is  true,  Mr.  Rawn,"  said 
he.  "I  love  her.  I  love  your  wife ;  I  can't  help  it.  I 
have  told  her  so.  You  see." 

"You  love  her!"  John  Rawn  burst  out  into  a  great, 
croaking*  laugh.  "You  love  her  ?  I  say,  that's  good ! 
That's  good  news  to  tell  me,  isn't  it?  Why — I  sent 
her — I  used  her,  to  make  you  love  her!  You  see 
reason  now  at  last,  do  you  ? — every  man  does  at  last — 
every  man  has  his  price.  You'll  go  back  to  work  to 
morrow?  There's  a  lot  to  do,  but  we  can  save  it  all 
yet.  We  can  whip  them,  I  tell  you — we'll  get  every 
thing  back  in  our  own  hands  before  to-morrow  night !" 

" — But,  Mr.  Rawn  !  Listen !  You  do  not  know ! 
Surely  you  do  not  understand — " 

"Understand?  What  is  there  left  to  understand? 
Didn't  I  see  you  both  just  now?  Didn't  you — right 
now — haven't  you  got  to  come  across  now?  Hasn't 


364  JOHN   RAWN 

she  done  what  I  told  her  to  do;  what  she  said  she'd 
do?  I  told  her  to  bring  you  back  to  us  again,  and 
she's  done  it,  hasn't  she? 

"But  come  on,  now,"  he  resumed,  as  though  reluc 
tantly — "I  suppose  we've  got  to  go  up  there — Grace — ? 
Too  bad.    .    .    .    But  I  wanted  to  see  Jennie  first." 
|    "My  God!"  whispered  Virginia  Rawn,  shuddering. 
"Oh,  my  God!" 

VIII 

"Rawn,"  said  Halsey  directly,  abandoning  even  any 
pretense  at  courtesy ;  "the  end  of  the  world  has  come 
for  you,  for  us  all.  My  wife  is  dead — she's  lucky !  My 
child  is  dead,  too,  and  that's  lucky.  It  had  no  life  to 
live,  crippled  as  it  was.  She  killed  herself  and  the 
baby.  I  don't  seem  to  care  as  I  ought  to  care.  And 
now  your  wife  has  told  me  that  she  loves  me.  It's 
true!  She  doesn't  love  you;  she  never  has.  She  has 
not  taken  me  a  prisoner  any  more  than  I  have  her. 
We're  both  in  this  to-night.  We're  both  to  blame. 
But,  at  the  bottom,  you  are  to  blame — for  all  of  this." 

"Of  course!  Of  course!"  smiled  John  Rawn  sar 
donically.  "What  would  you  expect?  I  am  sorry. 
But  I'll  never  tell  any  one  about  it,  you  can  depend  on 
that!" 

"You'll  never  tell !"  went  on  Charles  Halsey  slowly. 
"You'll  never  need  to  tell.  But  here's  what  I  want  to 
tell  you,  once  more.  Whatever  this  is — and  it's  about 
bad  enough — it's  come  because  of  you.  You — you 
were  the  cause  of  this !" 

"You  blame  me — why,  what  do  you  mean!"  burst 
out  John  Rawn.  "Where  have  7  been  to  blame,  I'd 
like  to  know  !  What  do  you  mean,  young  man  ?" 


THOSE  WHO  REAP  THE  WHIRLWIND    365 

"Every  word  I  have  told  you,  and  more  than  I  can 
tell  you.  You'll  not  think — you  don't  dare  to  face  the 
truth ;  but  there's  the  real  truth.  If  you  can't  under 
stand  that,  take  what  you  can  understand.  Your  wife 
isn't  to  blame — I'm  to  blame.  Love  is  to  blame.  I 
love  her.  I've  done  this." 

"You  have  done — what?" 

"I've  taken  your  wife  away  from  you,  can't  you 
understand,  you  fool?  She's  going  to  marry  me  as 
soon—" 

"Jennie! — what's  this  fellow  talking  about?"  The 
veins  on  John  Rawn's  forehead  stood  high  and  full. 


IX 

"He  is  only  telling  you  the  truth,"  she  said  calmly, 
wearily.  "I  don't  care  one  picayune  whether  or  not 
you  know  it,  whether  or  not  the  world  knows  it !  I'm 
tired !  I'm  done  with  all  this  sort  of  thing !  Yes,  I'm 
going  to  marry  him  as  soon  as  we  can  get  away.  As 
soon  as  it's  decent,  if  anything's  decent  any  more !" 

"And  you  love  him,  you'll  rob  me,  you'll  leave  me — • 
you'll — why,  are  you  all  crazy  ?  What  are  you  talking 
about?  When  I've  given  you  everything  you've  got — • 
when  you  were  so  much  to  me !  Jennie !" 

"No,  no!"  she  raised  a  hand.  "Don't  talk  about 
that !  It's  all  over  now." 

She  tore  at  her  throat,  at  her  fingers,  heaped  up  in 
his  hands  the  gems  she  wore  even  then,  the  gems  she 
had  put  upon  her  person  to  protect  them  from  uncer 
tain  servants,  gems  which  left  her  blazing  like  some 
waxen  queen  in  her  tomb — white,  dead,  en  jeweled. 

"Take  them !"  she  cried.    "I  don't  want  them."   She 


366  JOHN   RAWN 

went  on,  piling  his  hands  full  of  glittering,  flashing 
things.  He  stood  gazing  at  her,  stupefied.  Then, 
slowly,  the  burden  of  years,  the  burden  of  business 
failure,  and  lastly  this — the  burden  of  the  worst  of 
man's  discomfiture,  the  worst  of  a  man's  possible 
losses — began  to  weigh  down  upon  him.  He  shortened 
visibly ;  shriveled ;  drooped. 


x 

They  had  no  pity  for  him.  Youth  has  no  pity  for 
age,  love  no  pity  for  a  mate's  inefficiency ;  but  after  all 
some  sort  of  contempt,  at  least,  seemed  due  him. 

"Rawn,"  said  Halsey,  "it's  pretty  hard.  We're  all 
of  us  paying  a  hard,  heavy  price  for  what  we  thought 
we  had.  But  we  can't  evade  it,  any  part  of  it.  It  was 
your  fault  that  Grace  left  me.  We  were  going  to  part. 
You  sent  your  wife  after  me,  as  you  call  it.  I  suppose 
Grace  found  that  out.  You  know  what  she  did  then. 
I  said  I  blame  you,  and  so  I  do.  But  I  was  going  to 
get  a  divorce — " 

"Divorce ! — you  divorce  my  daughter !  John 
Rawn's  daughter!" 

"Did  you  not  divorce  her  mother — you,  yourself?" 

"But  I  loved — my  wife — I  mean,  this  woman — Jen 
nie,  here!" 

"So  do  /  love  her;  more  than  you  do  or  ever  will 
know  how  to  do!  What  you  have  done  we'll  do.  Is 
it  worse  for  us  than  it  was  for  you?  What's  the  dif 
ference  ?" 

"But  she's  my  wife!  Why,  Jennie!"  He  held  out 
a  hand  to  her. 


THOSE  WHO  REAP  THE  WHIRLWIND     367 

"So  was  Laura  Rawn  your  wife,  my  wife's  mother/' 
went  on  Halsey.  "What's  the  difference  ?" 

Virginia  Rawn  stepped  between  the  two.  "I'm  as 
much  to  blame  as  any  one  of  us  all,"  she  said  quietly. 
"I  sold  out  to  you,  didn't  I,  Mr.  Rawn — down  there 
in  New  York?  I  married  you,  didn't  I?  Very  well, 
what  you  did,  I  have  done.  No  more,  and  not  without 
equal  cause.  I  love  him.  I'm  going  to  marry  him. 
You  and  I  are  going  to  be  divorced — if  we  were  not 
I'd  go  to  him  anyhow.  I  hate  you,  I  loathe  you !  My 
God!  how  I  detest  and  loathe  the  sight  of  you!  Go 
away — go  away  from  us!  You're  not  any  part  of  a 
man !" 

XI 

"It's  true!"  gasped  John  Rawn  to  himself;  "My 
God,  it's  true  !  She  said  that — I  heard  her — to  me  ? 
What  have  I  done  to  deserve  this?  ...  I  ought  to 
kill  you,"  said  he  to  Halsey  slowly. 

"Of  course  you  ought,"  said  Halsey.  "If  you  were 
any  portion  of  a  man  you  would.  But  you've  tried 
that,  and  you  know  where  you  ended." 

"But  Halsey — Charley! — you  don't  stop  to  think!" 
began  Rawn  pitifully.  "You  will  go  back — you  will 
go  back  to  the  factory,  in  the  morning  ?  You  will  help 
me  pull  it  together,  won't  you  ?" 

"No,  not  one  step  back  to  the  factory — never  in  the 
world!  I'm  done  with  that.  I'm  going  away  some 
where,  and  she's  going  with  me,  I  don't  know  where. 
Let  some  one  else  work  out  what  you  thought  we  could 
do,  and  let  some  one  else  take  the  consequences — it's 
not  for  me.  You've  got  what  you  earned — I  suppose 


368  JOHN   RAWN 

I'll  get  what  I've  earned,  too.  I  don't  care  about  that 
any  more." 

Rawn  could  not  answer  the  young  man  as  he  went 
on,  slowly,  dully,  bitterly.  "If  I've  been  traitor  to  any 
of  my  own  creed  I  reckon  God'll  punish  me.  Very 
well;  I  will  take  my  punishment  on  my  shoulders. 
I've  no  apologies  to  make  in  a  place  like  this. 

"Haven't  you  gone  up — oughtn't  we  to  go  up  now 
— up-stairs  ?"  he  added  at  last.  He  put  down  Virginia's 
arms  from  his  shoulders ;  for  once  more  she  had  come 
to  him. 

Rawn  sighed.  "I  suppose  I  must  go  up  there,"  he 
said  vaguely. 

He  turned  and  walked  away,  heavy,  stumbling. 


CHAPTER  XI 


THE  MEANS — AND  THE  END 


HALSEY  turned  toward  Virginia.  They  'did  not 
again  embrace,  but  stood  silent,  almost  apathetic 
now.  Passion  was  far  away  from  them,  indeed  had 
never  fully  seized  them.  The  despair  in  human  love 
was  theirs ;  and  love  is  half  despair.  She  might  have 
been  some  beautiful  statue  in  white  marble,  so  cold  was 
she ;  and  as  for  the  man  who  faced  her,  his  anger  gone, 
he  himself  might  have  been  the  image  of  hopelessness. 
Central  figures  of  an  irreparable  ruin,  and  seeing  no 
avenue  to  happiness,  for  the  time  neither  had  word  for 
the  other. 

At  last  Halsey  raised  his  head,  as  some  sound 
caught  his  ear.  "What's  that?"  he  said. 

"I  heard  it,"  said  she.  "I  think  it's  some  one  com 
ing  up  the  walk." 

"Yes,"  he  answered.  "Listen !  Why,  it  sounds  like 
a  crowd.  What  can  that  mean,  now  ?  Wait." 

He  left  her  and  hastened  out  to  the  front  door.  He 
stood  there,  outlined  fully  by  the  hall  lights  behind 
him.  Those  who  approached  recognized  him.  He 
was  greeted  by  a  derisive  shout,  half-maudlin,  scarce 
human  in  its  quality.  The  solitary  servant  rushed  up, 
excited.  "What  is  it,  Mr.  Halsey?"  he  quavered.  "Is 

369 


370  JOHN  RAWN 

there  going  to  be  any  trouble?  Oh,  I  ought  to  have 
gone  away  with  the  others !" 

"Get  out  of  the  way,"  replied  Halsey  calmly.  "Get 
back  behind  the  door.  I'll  go  out  and  meet  them." 

"Here,  you  men !"  he  called  out  in  sudden  anger  to 
the  visitors.  "What  do  you  mean,  coming  here  this 
way?"  He  was  advancing  toward  them  now,  down 
the  steps,  into  the  curving  walk,  almost  to  the  rim  of 
the  circle  of  light  cast  by  the  house  lights. 

"Don't  you  know  any  better  than  to  come  here  at 
this  time,  you  people?  There's  trouble  in  this  house. 
There's  death  in  here.  Go  on  away,  at  once!" 


ii 

The  leader  of  the  scattered  group  of  ill-dressed  men 
stepped  forward.  "No,  we'll  not  go  on  away  at  once. 
We  know  who  you  are,  all  right,  Mr.  Halsey.  Trouble  ! 
We're  in  trouble,  too!  We're  lookin'  for  some  more 
trouble,  now." 

"Well,  I'm  not  to  blame  for  that.  What  do  you 
mean?  Who  are  you,  anyway?" 

"You  ought  to  know  us !  We've  done  up  some  of 
your  damned  sneaks.  You  cut  your  workmen  down  to 
the  last  copper  in  wages,  and  you  didn't  pay  them  that. 
Then  when  the  pinch  came,  you  shut  the  doors  and 
slunk  off,  like  the  coward  you  was !  Then  they  came 
over  to  us,  at  last !  Your  scabs  is  in  the  unions  now." 

"I  haven't  done  anything  of  the  kind !"  retorted  Hal 
sey  hotly.  "I  haven't  been  to  the  factory  for  days. 
When  I  left  there,  every  cent  was  paid  up.  That 
wasn't  any  of  my  business  anyhow — I  was  not  cashier, 
but  factory  superintendent." 


THE  MEANS— AND  THE  END    371 

"It's  a  lie,  you  know  it's  a  lie !  We've  come  to  show 
you  up.  We've  come  to  take  old  man  Rawn  and  you 
out  of  this  place.  We  ought  to  ride  him  on  a  rail,  and 
you  with  him!  That's  what  we  ought  to  do!  We 
want  that  money."  The  leader  advanced  toward  him 
menacingly. 

"Why,  men,  I  have  not  got  your  money — "  expos 
tulated  Halsey.  "If  I  had,  this  isn't  the  way  to  get  it 
from  me!  I've  always  used  you  fellows  square! 
You've  got  to  act  that  way  with  me.  I'm  in  trouble 
now,  I  tell  you.  My  wife's  dead,  and  my  baby — to-day 
— in  here.  You  are  accusing  the  best  friend  you  have 
got !  Where's  Jim  Sullivan  ?  Where's  Tim  Carney  ? 
Where's  any  of  you  men  that  used;  to  work  with  me 
there  in  the  factory?  Any  one  of  you  ought  to  know 
better." 

"They  ain't  here;  but  don't  talk  that  to  us!  We 
know  what  you  was  doing  with  them  machines.  We 
know  what  you  was  up  to.  You  wanted  to  take  the 
bread  out  of  our  mouths  !  We  seen  it  all  in  the  papers, 
the  whole  thing,  plain  enough.  No  wonder  you  kept  it 
all  blind  as  you  could — you  wanted  to  put  us  off  the 
earth." 

"It's  a  lie!"  cried  Halsey  sternly.  "I  broke  them 
up.  I  threw  up  my  job.  I  quit  because  I  didn't  want 
to  see  the  bread  taken  out  of  your  mouths.  I  stood 
between  the  company  and  just  what  you  say.  I 
wouldn't  allow  them  to  make  it  harder  for  you  than  it 
was.  I  never  lost  you  a  cent  of  wages — I  stood  for 
you  all  the  time,  I'm  with  you  now.  Why,  men,  I've 
been  at  your  meetings,  I'm  one  of  you !  Don't  you 
know?  Don't  you  remember?  You've  never  asked  a 
thing  of  me  I  haven't  tried  to  do,  that  was  in  reason. 


372  JOHN   RAWN 

You  know  me!  What  difference  about  the  union  if 
I'm  your  sort?" 

"Yes,  ve  do  know  you !"  broke  in  a  squat  and  pallid 
Jew,  forcing  himself  through  the  thick  to  the  front, 
and  usurping  the  place  of  the  wavering  leader.  "By 
Gott,  ve  do  know  you,  Mister  Halsey!  You'fe  lied 
to  us,  that's  vat  you'fe  done!  You'fe  been  to  our 
meetings,  yess,  but  you'fe  betrayed  us!  I  seen  you 
there,  yess!" 

"That's  not  true !"  answered  Halsey  hotly.  "There 
isn't  a  word  of  truth  in  it!  I've  lost  everything  in 
the  world  I've  got  just  because  that  isn't  true.  My 
w;ife's  lying  dead  in  that  house  back  there — just  be 
cause  of  that!  My  child's  dead  there  too — just  be 
cause  of  that — I've  lost  everything  in  the  world  I  have 
got — just  because  that  isn't  true!" 


in 

The  Jew  shrieked  aloud,  half-insane.  "To  hell  vith 
this  country!"  he  said.  "To  hell  vith  the  rich  that 
rob  us.  If  your  vife's  dead,  it  iss  vat's  right.  My 
vife,  she'll  die  too,  she's  starring.  To  hell  vith  Rawn 
and  all  like  him!" 

"Look  here,  my  men,  that's  about  enough  of  that !" 
rejoined  Halsey.  "You're  drunk  or  crazy,  and  we're 
not  going  to  stand  for  that  here.  It's  no  place  for  this 
kind  of  talk.  I  tell  you,  I've  done  all  I  could  for  you. 
I  haven't  sided  with  Rawn.  If  I  had,  I  could  be  rich 
to-day." 

"You  are  rich!"  cried  the  Jew;  "and  ve  are  poor. 
You  eat  fat,  you  sleep  soft.  You  are  rich !  But  vat 


THE  MEANS— AND  THE  END    373 

do  ve  getf  I'm  hungry !  My  folks — they  are  starring ! 
Ve  haf  no  money.  Ve  get  no  money  for  vork  ve  did 
so  long.  It  buys  us  nothing  now.  Meat  is  no  more  for 
us ;  breat,  hardly.  This  iss  no  country  for  the  people. 
This  iss  no  land  vere  laws  are  just.  This  iss  no  re 
public  of  man.  Jehovah,  send  Thy  power!  Smite 
and  spare  not,  this  so  wrong  a  land !" 

"You  damned  fanatic,  shut  up !"  began  Halsey  sav 
agely.  "Get  on  out  of  here.  You  don't  know  your  own 
friends !  Who's  to  blame  for  your  troubles  ?  Haven't 
you  got  heads  of  your  own?  Haven't  you  got  votes 
of  your  own?  Can't  you  right  your  own  wrongs,  the 
first  minute  you  get  ready  to  do  it,  I'd  like  to  know? 
I'm  for  you,  do  you  understand ;  but  you  make  it  hard 
for  any  one  to  help  you.  You've  had  sluggers  after 
our  men  all  the  time  over  there,  and  now  you  come  and 
want  us  to  pay  you  for  that.  You're  over  here  to  make 
trouble  to-night,  maybe  slug  me — perhaps  that's  what 
you  are  trying  to  do  to  me — and  you  want  us  to  pay 
you  for  that.  You  talk  about  monopolies  and  trusts — • 
what  you're  trying  to  do  is  to  make  the  worst  trust  in 
the  country — a  monopoly  in  ignorance  and  savagery. 
Go  on  home  and  let  me  alone !  I  tell  you,  my  wife  is 
dead.  I  am  going  back  to  her !" 

"He's  lying  to  us !"  cried  out  a  voice  in  the  crowd. 
"He's  trying  to  get  us  sorry  for  him !" 

"That's  it !"  screamed  the  Jew,  who  had  edged  to  the 
front  and  who  now  stood  crouched,  menacing,  not  far 
from  Halsey's  erect  and  irate  frame.  "That's  vhat 
he  iss.  He'ss  only  trying  to  fool  us.  Kill  him !  Ve've 
vaited  long  enough !  Gif  it  to  him !"  He  sprang  to  one 
side,  crouching. 


374  JOHN    RAWN 


IV 

Those  back  of  them,  at  the  gallery,  in  the  rear  of 
the  entry,  heard  some  sort  of  scuffle,  a  snarling  of 
voices,  curses.  There  were  sounds  of  blows.  Then 
came  a  flash,  a  shocking  report;  after  that,  a  half- 
instant  of  silence,  and  the  sound  of  scattering  and  de 
parting  footsteps. 

There  remained  only  one  figure,  lying  outstretched 
on  the  gravel.  To  render  succor  to  this,  to  offer  aid, 
there  was  now  only  one  human  being  left  in  all  that 
place — she  who  now  came  hurrying  forward. 

.  Virginia  Rawn  half  raised  Halsey  as  he  lay.   "Char 
ley  !"  she  said  quietly.    "Can  you  talk  ?" 

He  gasped  and  nodded.  "Through  here!"  He 
touched  his  chest.  "I  guess  I'll  not — be  able — " 

She  called  out,  to  any  back  of  her,  for  aid.  The 
frightened  servant  came,  and  between  them  they  got 
him  somehow  into  the  house,  dragging  him  to  the 
gold-room  library  which  they  had  but  lately  left.  They 
placed  him  there  upon  a  couch.  Virginia  Rawn  rose 
and  waved  the  man  away.  He  hurried  after  help. 

"Charley  !"  she  said,  turning  to  him ;  "can  you  talk?57 

"A  little.    What  is  it,  Jennie?" 

"You're  hurt  bad — very  bad." 

"Through  here,"  he  said  again,  and  touched  his 
chest.  His  breath  was  hard.  His  garments  were 
soaked  with  blood.  His  face  was  bluish-gray. 


She  looked  into  his  soul  the  query  of  her  own.    Per 
haps  there  was  something  not  wholly  unworthy  in  the 


THE  MEANS— AND  THE  END    375 

bond  between  them,  since  now  it  enabled  them  to  talk, 
one  soul  with  the  other,  almost  without  words.  .  .  . 
The  great,  secret,  all-powerful,  world  current,  inter 
stellar,  not  international,  the  one  great  power — of  love, 
as  she  once  said — was  theirs.  .  .  .  Yes,  it  was  theirs, 
if  only  for  a  little  while. 

"They've  killed  me,"  he  began  after  a  time— "I 
tried  to  do  something  for  them.  He — Rawn — would 
have  used  it  for  himself.  I  didn't  want  to.  ... 

"Jennie,"  he  said,  after  a  time;  "I  beg  pardon, 
Mrs.  Rawn — I  forgot — would  you  take  the  doll,  the 
little  rubber  one  on  the  table  there,  up  to  the  baby? 
Poor  little  thing!  Oh,  well!  .  .  ." 

He  sighed.  She  quietly  laid  him  back  upon  the 
couch,  She  heard  the  blood  drip,  drip,  through  and 
across  the  brocaded  couch,  falling  at  the  edge  of  the 
silken  rug,  on  the  polished  floor,  eddying  there ;  thick 
ening  there. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  GREAT  JOHN  RAWN 


FAR  off,  deep  in  the  underground  regions  of  the 
city,  at  the  focus  of  the  republic's  vast  industrial 
ism,   the  presses   were   reeling  and   clanging   again, 
heavy  with  their  story  of  disaster.    The  civilization  of 
the  day  went  on. 

Somewhere  out  upon  the  mountain  tops,  somewhere 
in  the  forests,  the  forces  of  nature  gathered,  marched 
on  toward  the  sea.  Somewhere  dumbly,  mutely,  un 
complaining,  the  great  river  and  its  mate,  the  great 
power,  inter-stellar,  not  international — they  two,  as  he 
but  now  vauntingly  had  dreamed,  erstwhile  silent 
partners  of  John  Rawn — did  their  work.  .  .  .  For 
whom?  .  .  .  For  what?  Answer  that,  my  brothers. 
The  answer  is  your  own.  As  you  and  I  shall  speak  in 
that  answer,  so  shall  our  children  eat  well,  sleep  well,  in 
days  yet  to  come,  in  this  country  which  we  still  call 
our  own,  now  all  too  little  ours. 


ii 

It  was  far  past  midnight  when  John  Rawn  again 
came  down  the  stair,  sobered  and  whitened  by  what 

376 


THE    GREAT   JOHN   RAWN  377 

he  had  seen  in  the  death  chamber.  He  tiptoed  now 
back  to  the  library  door,  through  which  and  beneath 
whose  silken  curtains  still  there  pierced  a  little  shaft  of 
light.  He  opened  the  door,  peered  in. 

He  saw  Virginia  sitting  there  silent,  white,  unagi- 
tated,  her  features  cameo-sharp,  her  skin  waxen,  in 
deed  marble  white,  a  woman  as  motionless,  as  silent, 
apparently  as  little  animate  as  the  one  he  had  left 
behind  him  in  the  death  chamber  beyond  the  stair.  She 
turned  her  eyes,  not  her  face,  toward  him,  but  did  not 
speak.  The  edge  of  her  gown  was  moist,  stained. 

John  Rawn  looked  in  turn  at  the  long  figure  upon 
the  couch,  motionless,  silent,  its  hands  folded.  Neither 
did  it  speak  to  him.  Suddenly  oppressed,  suddenly 
afraid,  he  turned  once  more  away.  Irresolution  was  in 
his  soul,  uncertainty. 

Rawn  was  hardly  sure  that  he  still  lived,  that  he 
still  was  the  same  John  Rawn  he  once  had  known.  It 
seemed  impossible  that  all  these  things  could  have 
fallen  upon  him,  who  had  not  deserved  them!  He 
pitied  himself  with  a  vast  pity,  revolting1  at  the  many: 
injustices  of  fortune  now  crowding  upon  him,  a  wholly, 
blameless  man.  Why,  a  day  before,  he  had  held  in  his 
hand  power  such  as  few  men  could  equal;  had  had, 
presently  before  him,  power  none  other  ever  could 
hope  to  equal.  That  opportunity  still  existed.  But  how 
now  could  he  avail  himself  of  that  opportunity,  how 
could  he  go  on  to  be  the  great  John  Rawn,  if  this 
figure  on  the  couch  could  not  arise,  could  not  speak 
to  him,  could  not  perform  the  obvious  duty  of  render 
ing  needful  assistance  to  him,  John  Rawn:  The  cru 
elty  of  it  all  rankled  in  the  great  and  justice-loving 
soul  of  Mr.  Rawn.  Why,  he  was  penniless — he — John 


378  JOHN   RAWN 

Rawn !  He  was  not  even  sure  about  his  wife,  yonder. 
She  had  said  things  to  him  he  could  not  understand, 
could  not  believe.  .  .  . 

He  left  the  room,  and  walked  still  farther  down  the 
hall,  his  head  sagging,  his  lower  lip  pendulous,  his 
face  warped  into  a  pucker  of  self-pity — so  absorbed, 
that  at  first  he  did  not  heed  an  approaching  footfall. 
He  paused  almost  in  touch  of  some  one  who  ap 
proached  him  in  the  half-lighted  hall ;  some  one  who 
was  coming  down  the  stair  and  along  the  hall  with 
steady  tread. 

in 

There  stood  before  him  now  the  same  tall,  gray- 
haired,  unfashionably  dressed  woman  whom  so  re 
cently  he  vaguely  had  noted  at  a  distance  in  the  hall 
above;  some  woman  apparently  busy  with  duties  con 
nected  with  the  death  chamber,  as  he  had  reflected 
when  he  saw  her;  some  neighbor,  he  presumed,  and 
certainly  useful!  It  was  kind  of  her  to  come  at  this 
time.  He  could  not,  at  the  time,  recollect  that  he  had 
seen  her  before.  Yes,  he  would  reward  her — he  would 
express  his  thanks. 

He  looked  up  at  her  now  sharply,  and  gasped. 

"Laura!"  he  exclaimed.  "Is  it  you?" 

"Why,  yes,  John,"  answered  the  tall,  gaunt  woman 
gently.  "Didn't  you  see  me,  up  there?  I  suppose  you 
were  too  much  troubled  to  notice  me,  John.  Yes,  I'm 
here.  I  thought  maybe  I  ought  to  come. 

"But  you  see — this — "  she  held  out  to  him  the  letter 
she  had  picked  up  from  the  hall  table.  "This  didn't 
get  to  her — Grace — not  in  time.  She  died  this  morn 
ing,  before  noon,,  they  tell  me.  She  never  knew  her 


THE   GREAT   JOHN   RAWN  379 

mother  was  coming  to  her  when  she  was  in  trouble. 
She  hadn't  seen  my  letter  to  her,  telling  I  was  coming. 
I  knew  she  was  in  trouble — and  I  saw  all  the  stories 
in  the  papers.  I  thought  I'd  tell  her  I  was  coming  to 
her — and  you,  John.  She  was  my  girl,  after  all!  I 
knew  she  was  in  trouble." 

"How  did  you  know  ?" 

"Why,  she  wrote  to  me,  of  course.  A  girl  always 
writes  to  her  mother  when  she's  in  trouble.  She  wrote 
to  me  right  often.  She  wasn't — well,  she  wasn't  happy, 
John,  and  she  often  told  me  that.  Something  wrong 
was  going  on  between  her  and  Charley,  I  don't  know 
what." 

He  stood  looking  at  her,  stupefied,  as  she  went  on, 
simply. 

IV 

"John,  married  folks  oughtn't  to  be  apart  too  mucH. 
They  sort  of  get  weaned  from  each  other.  Grace  was 
too  ambitious.  She'd  got,  here,  what  she  thought  her 
husband  couldn't  get,  what  she'd  come  to  think  she 
had  to  have.  I  might  have  told  her  better,  but  I  wasn't 
here.  Not  that  I'm  reproving  you,  John,  not  at  all. 
Besides,  we  have  all  got  to  go,  some  day.  But  I  loved 
her.  .  .  .  And  the  baby." 

"So  did  I  love  her,  and  the  baby,"  he  began.  Tears 
were  in  his  eyes.  "Laura,  I  have  had  nothing  but 
trouble.  And  now  you  have  come  here — " 

"Yes,  I  know;  it  must  seem  a  little  queer  to  you, 
John ;  so  I'm  going  right  away  again,  to-night — before 
morning,  if  there's  any  way  I  can  get  down-town." 

"Yes,  yes!" 

" — Because,  I  know  if  I  was  seen  around  here,  and 


380  JOHN   RAWN 

people  found  out  who  I  am,  who  I — was — there  might 
be  some  sort  of  talk  which  would  be  hard  for  you, 
John.  I  reckon  you  have  trouble  enough  without  that. 
I  didn't  want  to  bother  you.  I  came  mostly  because 
of  Grace.  But — John,  I  always  did  like  to  tell  the 
truth,  and  I  have  got  to  tell  it  now — I  came  a  little, 
too,  because  of  you !" 

"Of  me?  Why  Laura!" 

"Yes,  I  did.  I  read  the  papers,  of  course,  all  the 
time.  I  have  known  about  you,  although  you  haven't 
heard  of  me.  You  have  moved  up  in  the  world,  John, 
and  as  for  me — well,  I  have  just  gone  back  to  Kelly 
Row,  where  we  used  to  live.  Of  course,  I'm  glad  you 
have  been  lucky.  But  then,  lately,  the  papers  all  be 
gan  to  say  you  were  in  trouble.  I've  read  all  kinds  of 
things  about  you.  I  heard  you  were  ruined — that  you 
hadn't  a  dollar  left  in  all  the  world !" 

"It's  true,"  he  growled;  "as  near  as  I  know,  it's 
true.  There  is  no  hope  for  me  now.  It's  all  up !" 

"But,  John,  you  had  so  much  money !" 

"Yes,  but  it's  gone  now.  It  doesn't  take  it  long  to 
go  when  it  starts  the  other  way.  The  market  makes  a 
man,  and  it  breaks  him  just  as  quick,  and  a  lot  quicker. 
It's  done  me,  Laura.  I'm  ruined.  I  haven't  a  thing 
left  in  the  world ;  not  even  my  wife.  Have  you  come 
here  to  twit  me  with  it?  What  do  I  owe  you,  that  I 
have  to  listen  to  you  ?" 

"Why,  nothing,  John,  that's  true ;  nothing  at  all,  not 
in  the  least.  I  have  no  right  here  at  all,  I  know  that. 
I  understood  that,  when  I — when — I  went  away  from 
here.  But  that  wasn't  why  I  came  back  to-night." 

"Then  why  did  you  come  ?  You  always  had  the  fac- 


THE   GREAT  JOHN    RAWN  381 

ulty,  Laura,  of  doing  the  wrong  thing.  You've  been  a 
curse  to  me  all  my  life !" 

"Some  of  that's  true,  John,"  she  answered  simply, 
"and  a  good  deal  of  it  isn't.  Maybe  I  said  the  wrong 
thing  sometimes,  or  did  the  wrong  thing.  I  never  had 
much  training.  I  was  meant  for  Kelly  Row,  I  reckon 
— I'd  never  have  fitted  in  here.  We  tried  it!  But  I 
didn't  come  to  glorify  myself  because  you've  lost  this 
place,  and  everything  you  had.  I  just  thought — " 

"Well,  Laura,  what  was  it  that  you  just  thought? 
I  can't  stand  here  talking  all  the  time.  It  isn't  right,  it 
isn't  proper.  I'm  worn  out !" 

"Of  course  it  isn't,  John.  I'm  going  right  away. 
'But  you  see,  when  I  came  away  I  just  thought  this 
way — here  am  I,  an  old  woman  that  don't  need  much 
money  any  more.  And  there'a  Grace; — and  maybe 
now  John  has  need  for  money  when  everybody's 
turned  against  him.  And  if  he  does  need  money, 
why—" 


"What  do  you  mean,  Laura?"  gasped  John  Rawn. 
"What's  that  you  said  about  money?" 

"How  much  would  do  you  any  good,  John?"  she 
asked,  fumbling  in  her  bulging  hand-bag. 

"I  might  as  well  wish  for  the  moon  as  for  a  dollar," 
he  said  bitterly.  "If  I  had  a  million,  or  a  half  million, 
to-morrow,  I'd  pull  it  all  together,  even  yet." 

"A  half  million,  John?"  she  said,  taking  out  of  her 
bag  a  little,  wrinkled,  flat  porte-monnaie  such  as  women 
sometimes  use  for  carrying  change  in  their  marketing; 
but  still  continuing  her  fumbling  at  the  portly  bag. 


382  JOHN   RAWN 

"Yes,  if  I  had  a  half  million  I  could  put  this  com 
pany  on  its  feet,  even  yet — the  secret's  out  that  Hal- 
sey  had, — but  I'd  get  it  somewhere.  I  more  than  half 
believe  those  fellows  have  got  it,  somewhere  else, 
somehow — that  fellow  Van's  deep.  You  see,  they've 
been  fighting  me,  Laura — made  up  a  gang  against  me ! 
I  know  who  it  was.  If  I  had  a  half  million  I'd  throw 
in  with  Van — he's  got  this  secret  somehow — he  knows 
something  about  it.  I'd  throw  in  with  him,  and  we'd 
whip  the  others,  even  yet!  I'd  get  it  all  back  in  my 
hands  even  yet,  I  tell  you ! 

"But  my  God !  Why  do  I  stand  talking  about  sucri 
things?  What's  the  use?  I'm  down  and  out!  I'd  just 
as  well  be  dead !" 

"Well,  John,  what  I  always  said  of  you  was,  that 
you  seemed  to  know  how  to  get  things  around  the  wayj 
you  wanted  them.  I  said  to  myself,  what  a  shame  it 
was  he  should  have  no  money,  when  he  needed  it,  and 
I  should  have  so  much  when  I  didn't  need  it.  I've  got 
enough'  set  aside  to  keep  me,  I  reckon,  for  my  few 
years.  And  here's  what  you  gave  me; — although, 
Grace — of  course,  John,  I  want  enough  used  to  put 
Grace  and  the  baby  away.  The  rest  is  yours." 

He  stood  looking  at  her  dumbly,  as  at  last  she  extri 
cated  from  the  bag  a  thick  bundle  of  folded  papers, 
green,  brown,  pale  pink. 

"I  got  the  bank  to  keep  them  for  me,"  she  said  sim 
ply.  "It  is  what  you  gave  me — when — when  I  left 
here—" 

He  still  stood  looking  at  her,  choking. 

"Laura!"  said  he.  "Has  God  come  to  my  aid? 
This—  I  can't  believe  it !  It's  a  million  dollars !  It's 


THE   GREAT  JOHN   RAWN  383 

a  million  dollars!"    His  voice  rose,  breaking  almost 
to  a  shriek.   "It's  a—  It's— a— million— dollars!" 

"Well,  take  it,  John,  it's  yours ;  you're  welcome  to  it. 
I  don't  want  it.  It's  done  me  no  good.  It's  done  none 
of  us  any  good.  All  I  want  is,  that  you  should  take 
care  of  Grace's  funeral,  for  that's  only  right,  John. 
She  was  my  girl,  my  baby,  my  baby!  Take  care  of 
her.  John,  I  have  got  to  go  back — home !" 


VI 

In  the  next!  ensuing  moment  or  so,  what  swift 
changes  now  were  wrought  in  the  late  despair  of  our 
friend  and  hero,  Mr.  John  Rawn,  master  of  the  Inter 
national  Power  Company,  already  in  imagination  con 
trolling  in  good  part  the  destinies  of  a  people — the 
great  John  Rawfi,  philanthropist,  kindly  employer, 
wise  friend  of  the  less  favored  ones  of  earth;  the 
beneficent,  kindly,  omnipotent  John  Rawn?  Why  had 
he  despaired,  why  had  he  ever  doubted,  why  had  he 
ever  set  himself  even  momentarily  apart  from  that 
original  destiny  which  always  he  had  accorded  to  him 
self  ?  Was  he  not  a  leader — had  he  not  been  devised 
to  be  so  in  the  plans  of  the  immortal  gods,  ages  ago? 
Was  he  not  one  of  the  few  select  ones  assigned  to 
rule  his  fellow-men? 

John  Rawn  stood  before  the  old,  gray  woman,  and 
scarcely  heard  her  last  words.  He  sighed  deeply.  His 
self-respect  was  coming  back  to  him  in  waves,  great, 
recurrent  waves.  At  last  a  smile  crossed  his  face.  The 
imperious  glance  of  the  born  ruler,  of  one  better  tfean 
his  fellow-men,  the  look  of  the  man  set  apart  and  li 
censed  to  rob  and  rule — returned  once  more  to  his  eye. 


384  JOHN    RAWN 


VII 

"It's  a  million  dollars!"  he  cried  aloud,  exultantly, 
once  more.  "It's  God  has  sent  it  to  me !  I'll  take  it  as 
a  sign.  Watch  me  in  the  morning!  I'll  make  them 
hunt  their  holes  yet.  By  God !  I  will !" 

"John,  John,  you  mustn't  swear,  it  isn't  right! 
John !" 

"I  beg  your  pardon — er — er — Laura,"  he  rejoined, 
with  fine  condescension,  every  instant  now  becoming 
more  himself.  "In  fact,  I  want  to  thank  you — it's  clever 
of  you,  I  must  say.  It  isn't  every  woman  who'd  have 
done  what  you  have  done,  I'm  sure." 

"Why  wouldn't  they,  John  ?  It  isn't  money  a  woman 
wants  to  make  her  happy.  I've  tried  that.  Grace  tried 
it.  It  doesn't  work.  It  takes  something  else  besides 
money,  I  reckon.  We're  lucky  when  we  find  that,  any 
of  us,  I  reckon.  If  we  don't,  we've  got  to  take  just 
what  God  gives  us.  But  money  doesn't  buy  everything 
in  the  world.  John,  sometimes  I  think  it  buys  about  as 
little  as  anything  you  can  think  of!"  She  gulped  just 
a  little  in  her  thin  throat. 

"All  the  same,"  said  he  firmly  and  generously,  by 
this  time  almost  fully  the  great  John  Rawn  once  more, 
"it  was  very  decent  of  you,  Laura." 

"Well,  never  mind  about  that,  John.  It  was  you 
who  made  it.  I  never  did  understand  how  you  earned 
It  so  fast.  I'm  glad  if  it  will  do  you  any  good — if  you're 
sure  it  will  do  you  any  good.  And  see,  John,"  she 
added  shyly,  fumbling  again  in  her  bag,  "I  brought 
you  a  little  present,  John.  I've  been  doing  these,  you 
see.  I  make  quite  a  lot  out  of  it.  I  never  used  any  of 
that  money  you  gave  me,  at  all — I  c'id  these  things — 


THE    GREAT   JOHN    RAWN  385 

the  way  I  did  before,  when  we  were  getting  our  start 
together,  John,  you  know.  I  thought — maybe — you'd 
like  a  pair." 

VIII 

She  held  out  to  him  a  pair  of  braces,  embroidered 
carefully  in  silks.  He  took  them  in  his  hand.  She  also 
looked  at  them  closely,  in  professional  scrutiny,  her 
steel  bowed  spectacles  on  nose.  She  pronounced  them 
good. 

"But,  John,"  she  added  curiously — "you  know, 
while  I  was  up  there,  doing  what  I  could  for  Grace  and 
the  baby — it  seemed  to  me  like  as  if  I  heard  some 
funny  sort  of  noise  down  here — something  like  a  shot. 
What  was  it?" 

"It  was  some  of  those  confounded  laboring  people," 
said  John  Rawn,  frowning.  "Yes — they  came  here 
after  Halsey." 

"Yes?   But  was  anybody  hurt?" 

"Well,"  said  John  Rawn,  "Halsey— Charley  Halsey 
— you  remember  him,  I  believe?  Well,  they  shot  him. 

— "Good-night,  Laura,"  he  added  suddenly,  and  held 
out  his  hand  to  her,  generously,  nobly.  "I'm  very 
sleepy.  I've  been  up  so  long — and  I've  a  lot  to  do  to 
morrow.  After  all,  there's  no  use  in  our  having  hard 
feelings.  Good-by." 


THE  END 


RETURN     CIRCULATION  DEPARTMENT 

TO—  +>      202  Main  Library 

LOAN  PERIOD  1 
HOME  USE 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS 

1  -month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling  642-3405 

6-month  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing  books  to  Circulation 

Desk 

Renewals  and  recharges  may  be  made  4  days  prior  to  due  date 

DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 


JUN  2  2  1978 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  BERKELEY 
FORM  NO.  DD6,  40m,  3/78  BERKELEY,  CA  94720 


IB '32972 


953000 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


